Keira, Kagome's demon cousin
by adoption142
Summary: Keira is a 17 year old living with her cousin. When they fall down the well, Keira turns into a demon! How and why is she a demon? Will Inuyasha, Keira, and Kagome ever be able to piece the jewel back together? Rated T for Inu and Keira's dirty mouths!
1. Crazy lady say whaaa?

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha. Only my own characters. Thank you.

**Crazy Lady Say Whaaaaaaaaa?**

Hi, I'm Keira Hitamashi. I'm 17, and I live with my cousin Kagome Higurashi, her brother Souta, her grandfather, and my Aunt Rachio. **(Sorry, idk her name…)** I have light brown hair that reaches my waist, and I am 5' 7" tall. My eyes are….hard to explain. Near the pupil, they are brown, and as you get to the middle they are emerald green. The outside is a greyish blue color. When I am angry though, my whole iris turns a bright green, and when I am sad, they turn a dark blue. Although, when I get really mad, Kagome says my eyes turn violet, which I find hard to believe.

I am curvy and lean, but quite muscular for girls my age. That's because of all the running around I do from sports and things. Besides, I have to get home from school somehow. I have a…..grudge against bicycles, ever since that one ripped my favorite pair of skinny jeans. They were brand new too! Of course, the bike paid for it later, when I got my revenge by "accidentally" throwing it in the garbage truck as it was mashing the garbage down.

There's also NO way that I'd take public transport. The cab drivers always stare at me, well my body really, and the bus is too crowded. I can literally _feel_ the germs crawling on me.

"Come _on_ Keira! We're going to be late! I still need the bathroom!" Kagome whined. I smirked, and opened the door for her, scooting towards the opposite side of the sink. I finished straightening my hair, not that it needed it, except for my side "fringe" as Kags called it, and moved on to my makeup. I know what you're thinking, but I'm NOT a girly girl. Stop thinking that before I have to hurt you. Anywho! I applied my eyeliner and mascara, and brushed my teeth. I shoved my two daggers into my boots, and hid my sword in my sports bag. I had a sword fighting class after track practice, and I always carried my daggers. You never know what can happen in Tokyo.

"There, all done. That wasn't so difficult was it?" I asked, smiling sweetly at Kagome. She tried to talk around her toothpaste, but thought better of it, and settled for a glare. I laughed, and followed the scent of breakfast downstairs, tying the necktie on my green and white uniform. I had a second pair of clothes in my bag, in case that bitch,Yukki, tries to pour milk on me again.

"Good morning Auntie! How are you today?" I asked, taking a seat as she put a plate in front of me.

"Just fine, thank you dear. Do you have your necklace on?" she asked. I rolled my eyes, but nodded. I _always_ had to have my necklace on. It's not that I minded. It was my mother's, before she died and Father left me. It was pretty too. It had clear, red, and light blue glass beads, which always felt cool, and a small green and brown tree in the middle.

Kagome skittered down the stairs, teetering at the last step before I rushed over and caught her.

"Jeez Kags. You have to stop tripping on the carpet. You're going to hurt the poor thing!" I teased. Kagome blushed, and grabbed an apple before jogging out the door.

"Sorry Auntie. I'll make sure she has a snack when she gets home. She doesn't eat enough." I sighed, and jogged out after her, waving to Rachio one last time.

"Buyo! Oh Buyo! Where did you go?" Souta muttered. Kags and I stopped, wanting to help Souta. He had a bowl full of fish in his hands, and was jingling a toy.

"What's wrong Souta?" Kagome asked, looking at the bowl.

"Yeah squirt. What happened?" I asked, ruffling his hair. "Did you lose Buyo again?"

"No! ...Yeah," he sighed. I laughed, and looked at my watch. I could be late for school, it didn't matter. I looked to Kagome, and she nodded, pointing at her own, holding up five on her hand. Five minutes should be long enough to find the fat cat. I looked at the ground, following his footprints into the old well house. It was dark inside, and when I opened the door, a gush of cold air chilled me to the bone. '_Creepy' _I thought, opening the door more to let in the light and warmth.

"Kags! Over here!" I called, waving my arm. Kagome followed me in, holding onto my arm with a death grip. We turned around, seeing Souta in the doorway. Kagome screamed, jumping into my arms. I looked down, right at Buyo, seeing the mischief glittering in his eyes.

"Hahahahaha!" I burst out, sending Buyo running out of the building. Souta's eyes widened, and his mouth opened and closed before stuttering out,

"Behind you!" A pair of white arms grabbed onto Kagome and I, pulling us into the dry well.

"My strength! It returns!" It hissed, opening its mouth, and showing its many sharp teeth. She looked at me, and then turned to Kagome. "You must have it," she said, licking her face.

"Get off me!" Kagome yelled, shoving her hand into the things face. A bright pink glow surrounded her hand, and the thing shrieked in pain before we landed on the hard ground again.

"Souta? Mama? Grandpa?" Kagome called. There was no answer. I looked up, and saw a clear blue sky and some….trees? That's strange. The only tree near Kagome's house was the Sacred Tree.

"Kags, let's just climb out, save people all the trouble." I said, grabbing a vine and tugging. Kagome nodded, grabbing another vine, and started to climb up. When we reached the top, I stared in wonder. The house was gone, replaced with grass and trees and rocks and flowers.

"Uhmm, let's look around okay Kags?" I asked, looking around. "Kags?" I asked, my head whipping around.

"I found the Sacred Tree! Come on!" she shouted, running into the woods. We ran into a clearing, and stopped short when we saw a boy. He had silver hair, and was wearing all red. Kagome, of course, noticed his ears, while I noticed his fangs and claws. Kagome climbed onto the roots, rubbing his ears. A series of arrows whizzed by me, almost hitting Kagome. She eeped loudly, and some men came forth.

"What are you doing in the forest of Inuyasha!" they yelled. I growled, as much as a human can anyway, and took my knives out of my boots.

"Who wants to know?" I asked menacingly. A man ran at me, throwing some kind of powder in my face. I sneezed, and then started to get sleepy. I heard Kagome yelling at them, trying to get away.

"Keira!" she called to me. "What did you do to her?" she shouted at the men. That was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

I woke up, tied to Kagome.

"Kags? Are you okay?" I whispered. She nodded, before turning towards an old lady.

"I told you already Kaede, Keira's not a demon!" she insisted. I turned my head to the side.

"A demon? Me? Maybe you have me mixed up with someone else you old hag." I scoffed, before cutting my ropes with my pocket knife. Kaede threw some powder at me, and it landed in my face again. I started sneezing, my eyes watering.

"What the hell woman?" I snarled. She rubbed her chin before setting the jar down.

"Ye are a demon. I can see ye aura." She said, before eyeing my necklace. "That must be it. What ye must be concealing yeself with."

"Crazy lady say whaaa?" I said. Concealing myself? What the heck was this lady talking about? She put her hand over my necklace, and started chanting. It started to glow, and then it disappeared. Everyone was staring at me, including Kagome.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" I said, trying to focus on my nose. Kagome was set free, and she pulled a mirror out of my bag. My hair was…..BLACK! It had different colors of highlights, brown, green, white, red, and blue. My eyes were still the same, but my ears were pointed, my lips fuller and deep red. I had two long fangs, and claws grew on my hands. My face had a blue stripe and a white stripe on one side, and a green and brown on the other. There was a big reddish orange flame on my forehead, and my clothing changed too. Instead of my school uniform, I had on a brown body suit, with green shoulder pads, a blue stomach pad, white knee pads, and a big red sash, with a loop for a sword. I finally quit pretending that I was still tied, and grabbed my sword from my bag, ignoring the gaps of everyone.

As soon as I picked the sword up, it pulsed, and I dropped it in shock.

"Holy shizz! What the heck was that?" I cried, shaking my hand to get the feeling to go away.

"I think…..it likes you Key." Kags said. I raised a brow at my new nickname, and picked up the sword again. This time, I held onto it while it pulsed. After a few seconds, it stopped, and I put it in the loop on my sash. I grabbed my knives from a villager, and put them into my new boots.

"Well Kaede, let's talk shall we?" asked, helping Kags up. The old lady nodded, and led us to her hut.

Kaede told Kagome about how she was supposed to be the reincarnation of Kikyo and all that jazz, but she couldn't tell me anything about how or why I was a demon. She didn't even know what type of demon I was.

With my new senses, I heard something moving fairly quickly to the east.

"Kaede, I think we've got company." I warned, right before I heard the yelling start. The centipede chick from earlier was back, and destroying the village.

"We must lead it to the dry well!" Kaede said, and Kagome tugged me to the west.

"There? Where that light is?" she asked. I looked at her in confusion. I didn't see any light. But nonetheless, Kaede nodded, and Kagome pulled me along after her. I heard the thing chasing us, and it swooped down and attacked Kagome before I could stop it. I managed to throw a dagger into her eye, and pulled Kags to her feet while the thing was distracted. We kept running, and the demon crashed into me, sending me flying into a tree, knocking me out.

I woke up just in time to see Kagome crushed against the boy, and he was telling her to pull out the arrow. The demon swallowed a glowing pink orb, and I smelled blood. I saw a red light surrounding both the boy and the centipede grow bigger, the boy's attacking the seal on the arrow. '_That must be his demonic aura' _I thought. I could also sense the hatred and greed in the aura. If Kags pulled that arrow out, we were toast!

"I choose to….LIVE!" Kags said, and she pulled on the arrow, making it disappear. The boy's aura flared, unleashed at last.

"NOOOOOOO!" I shouted, running towards Kagome. The centipede's grip released, and Kagome fell to the ground. She clutched her side, as the boy killed the centipede after taunting it for a while.

"Find the piece of glowing flesh before it has a chance to reform!" Kaede said. Kagome grabbed the orb from a piece of flesh, and the demon turned to dust. The boy flexed his claws, and turned towards Kagome.

"Now, hand over the jewel." He said darkly, taking half a step before I was in front of Kagome.

"Over my dead body dog boy." I said, flexing my own claws. I was growling nonstop, and my vision was tinted red around the edges.

"Hahaha!" he laughed. "It's been a while since I've had a good fight." He said, cracking his knuckles. I crouched low, and waited for him to attack. He slashed at me yelling, "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" I dodged, and he slashed at me again. The tips of my claws caught fire, and I yelled the first thing that came to mind.

"Fire Whip!" and a whip formed, made entirely of fire. I slashed at him, again and again, but not managing to get a hit.

"I'm wearing the robe of the fire rat! Your fire attack can't touch me!" he sneered. I growled, and slashed at his face instead of his body. He winced as the whip cut him, and blood started pouring from the gash. I smirked, when all of a sudden, he dipped his claws into the wound and slashed at me, yelling, "Blades of Blood!" This time, the attack hit me, cutting through a weak spot in the side of my armor. I winced, and fell on one knee in pain. The cut was deep, and I was losing too much blood. I slumped over, and he laughed before running towards Kagome. Kaede started chanting when they got to a bridge, and a necklace flew around his neck. I then realized that the wound had healed and disappeared, leaving only a light pink scar. The fabric repaired over it, looking as good as new. I stood up, and started towards him, when Kagome yelled "S-S-SIT!" and he face planted the bridge. She grabbed the jewel, and haughtily turned around, walking back towards Kaede. I couldn't help the giggles that escaped through my lips. The giggle soon turned into laughs, and soon I was doubled over laughing.

Then the boy, Inuyasha I think his name was, insulted Kaede, and Kagome sat him again. I of course, started laughing again, and the boy growled at me.

"Didn't I kill you already?" he sneered at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Obviously not, puppy. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out." I retorted.

"Bitch!" he shouted, shaking his fist at me. I snarled at him, and the red tinted my vision again. If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was being called a bitch. I dropped my sword and knives, ignoring the sword rattling in its sheath, and stalked towards him.

"You listen to me _whelp_," I hissed. "I have one rule. One. And that is to NEVER, under ANY circumstances call me a bitch! And you just broke that rule. Now, you DIE!" I snarled, launching myself at him. He tried to run, but I was faster, grabbing his neck and slamming him into a tree. His aura shrank away from mine, which was all different colors. He started to choke, and tried to squirm away. I raised my hand to kill him, when I felt a gentle hand on my arm. I looked back, and saw Kagome. She had a worried look on her face, like she always does when I get mad.

"Come on Key, let him go. It's not worth it." she said, and handed me my sword and knives. As soon as I took my sword back, the red receded, the anger with it. I sighed, and ran a hand through my hair.

"You're right Kags. Thanks." I smiled weakly, and turned to leave.

"Keh. That's what I thought." He smirked. I whirled on him, completely calm this time, and punched him on the nose. Blood spurted everywhere, but I barely grimaced when it splattered on my face. I felt _too_ calm, like I had shut my feelings off to everyone but Kagome. I wiped my face off with my sleeve, and turned back to Kagome.

"Let's go and get cleaned up." I said, and she readily agreed, smiling as she walked back to the village.

090909090909 LATER THAT EVENING 

"So I have to protect the jewel?" Kagome said in wonder.

"Aye, and it will not be easy child. Many demons seek it with bad intentions. Humans as well, so they can make real their petty and grasping ambitions." Kaede said tiredly.

"Speaking of bad intentions, why are you still here?" I asked Inuyasha coldly. He deadpanned, and merely said "Give me the jewel" before turning back around.

"Don't worry; his threat is diminished almost entirely with you and the beads of subjugation around." Kaede said to me. I rolled my eyes. I wasn't worried about my safety, I just hated the guy.

"Why do you want the jewel anyway? You seem powerful enough to me already." Kagome said.

"Ah, but he is only a half demon." Kaede said, before Inuyasha slammed his fist through the floorboards.

"You know what?" he growled. "I'm tired of sittin' here listenin' to some old hag talk about me like she knows me!"

"So ye don't remember?" Kaede asked him. At his blank look, she continued. "It is I, Kaede. Kikyo's younger sister." Inuyasha looked surprised before sitting down again.

"So you're the brat huh? Wow, if you're this old, Kikyo must be pushin' a hundred." He said indifferently. Kaede threw another piece of wood on the fire, and stared into for a long moment.

"Nay Inuyasha. She died the same day she shot ye with that arrow." Kaede said, not looking up from the fire.

"Huh. So Kikyo kicked the bucket huh? Well' it's one less thing for me to worry about." I sighed loudly, uncomfortable speaking of death.

"You got something to say wench?" Inuyasha glared at me. I blinked slowly, as if bored, and answered with an unspecific "Hn," knowing that would annoy him.

"Well? You gonna say it or not?" he challenged, annoyed. I inwardly smirked, thrilled that my plan was working. "Keh. Whatever, bitch." He muttered quietly, but I could still hear. When he turned around, I picked up a piece of wood, and hurled it at his head with inhuman strength. I sped towards him, and hit the back of his head with a CRACK! And he face planted the floor. I stormed outside, and jumped high into the Sacred Tree. How could he be so indifferent to the death of someone so important to him?

"Hey! Keira? What'd I say?" Inuyasha yelled up at me. I scowled, and jumped down, landing right in front of him.

"How can you be so indifferent to her death? You two were together before you were sealed! But now you act as if you don't care. You're despicable!" I spat at him. He looked at me in shock.

"But Kikyo deserved to die for what she did to me." He said, as if that explained everything. I poked him in the chest, and his ears pressed to his head.

"You listen to me _boy_. No one deserves to die. You can't brush off the past with indifference Yashie." I said sadly. "I've tried before."

"Keh." He said, and jumped into my previous spot in the tree.


	2. Yashie gets beat by a rock A ROCK

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Inuyasha.

Why is my luck always so bad?

I glanced around the hut again, leaning against the wall. It was hard to sleep, since I could sense every demon in an approximate 30 mile radius. I could hear and smell and see just about everything now too. It wasn't bad at first, but as I got used to being a demon, my senses kept getting better and better. Now it only took a bird ruffling its feathers, or a bug flying by for me to be on alert. I leaned my head back, and closed my eyes, trying to drown out the sounds.

I heard the click of tiny talons on the roof, and many more followed. I ran out of the hut, and jumped into the Sacred Tree by Inuyasha. I could see the creatures better from there. They were black, like crows, and had three red beady eyes, and a beak full of teeth.

"What _are_ those things?" I whispered. Inuyasha jumped down and slashed at the crows, killing a good number of them before the rest flew away.

"They're called corpse dancing crows. They rip out the heart of their prey, humans mostly, and make a nest, controlling them until the flesh rots away." He said, shaking the blood off his claws. I grimaced at the image, and jumped onto the roof by Inuyasha. '_Wow, didn't know I could jump like that.' _I thought.

"What are they doing here? Can they sense the jewel?" I asked. I looked down, and could definitely see the bright pink glow of the jewel. I inwardly groaned. This would make keeping the jewel away from demons so much harder.

"How can they not? It's only one of the strongest weapons in the world." He said in a 'duh' tone.

"Don't take that tone with me!" I said, and smacked his head.

"Why you! You're gonna pay for that!" He growled. I smirked, and jumped onto the ground.

"You'll have to catch me first!" I taunted. '_Jeez, I hope I can run fast!'_ I thought desperately. He jumped down after me, and I started running. I was _insanely_ fast. I left Inuyasha in the dust, and I was barely jogging. I laughed at the exhilaration, and picked up the speed. Soon, everything was just a big green blur, and the wind I created was whipping my hair back. A tree even lost most of its leaves as I ran by. I tried to find Inuyasha, and found him a long way back. I turned, and ran back towards the village, hoping to beat him there.

I burst into Kaede's hut to find Kagome gone. The old woman sat stirring some kind of herbs together, either not noticing that Kagome was gone, or not worried about it.

"Hey Kaede, where's Kagome?" I asked. She turned to me, a look of worry plaguing her features.

"I thought she was with ye and Inuyasha," she said, standing up as quickly as a woman her age could. I shook my head.

"No, me and Yashie had a race early this morning. He's still on his way back." Kaede's eyes widened.

"Quickly, find her child! She isn't safe with the whole jewel!" she exclaimed. I nodded, and rushed out the door, grabbing my sword on the way out. I followed her scent into Inuyasha's forest, going towards the well. I ran faster, and finally caught up to her.

"Kags! Wait up!" I shouted. She turned towards me, a smile on her face.

"Hey Key! I was just going home. Want to come with me?" she asked. I nodded, and smiled back. She pulled me towards the well, and I looked down it curiously. Could it really bring us back home?

Suddenly, Kagome disappeared from my side, and I was grabbed from behind. I was pulled into some bushes, and I saw Kagome being taken into the woods. I struggled against my captors, and bit into the hand over my mouth. The appendage was snatched away, and I took my chance to scream.

"INUYASHAAAAA!" the birds in the surrounding trees flew away in shock, and I was backhanded by one of the men.

"Shut your mouth wench! No one can hear you out here." Bandit #1 said. I growled, and bared my fangs at him. Bandits #2 and 3 grabbed my arms, and Bandit #4 threw some of the weird powder in my face.

"Where the fuck do you guys keep getting that stuff?" I said, before I blacked out again.

I was thrown forcefully onto the floor, and I heard Kagome shrieking at some guy who was tugging on her skirt. _'I sure am glad I got some new clothes.'_

"Marry me!" Bandit #5 said, and I saw red. I shook off Bandits 3 and 4, and charged at Bandit 5.

"Don't. touch. my. COUSIN!" I snarled, and threw him into a wall, cracking the stone. A humongous guy was swinging at Kagome with his sword, and chopped off Bandit 3's head. The other Bandits started running, and I took the chance to attack ugly. Before I got too close though, I was hit with a puke inducing new scent. I covered my nose with my sleeve, my eyes watering.

"Made a mistake. Give me the jewel." The thing said. I realized the smell was coming from _him_. He swung again, and stumbled, falling into the wall and cracking it more. His eyes rolled wildly, as if he couldn't see. I grabbed my sword, and slashed at him, cutting the strap of his armor.

There was a giant hole where his heart should have been, and a corpse dancing crow cawed indignantly from the hole. I shivered in disgust, and remembered what Yashie had told me about the crows. Yashie chose the moment to burst through the door, and attacked the guy before I could get over the smell. He punched the crow through the dead guy's back, and it flew away, picking up the discarded jewel.

"Crap." I muttered, and raced out the door after it. Inuyasha followed soon after, Kagome on his back.

"It's too high Yashie, not even I can get it." I said, and he scoffed.

"Wench, Kikyo was a master archer. If you _are_ her reincarnation, you should be able to kill it easily." He told Kagome. She glared at him.

"Don't be ridiculous! I have ZERO experience with a bow, and I'm KAGOME dammit!" She said.

"JUST SHUT UP AND SHOOT THE FUCKIN THING!" I screeched. "_BEFORE_ IT SWALLOWS THE JEWEL!" She nodded, and pulled the string back. She released it, and it looked like it was going to hit, before it sailed downward.

"Try again! Inuyasha, get her closer! Try jumping when she shoots, that way your running doesn't throw her off balance!" I said. He pushed himself faster, and I jumped into the trees. The crow grew in size, and it dove towards a village. It picked up a boy, and flew back up over a river. Kagome shot again, and missed again.

"Dammit!" I hissed, and ran faster, jumping towards the crow. My hands turned blue, and I lashed out yelling,

"Aqua Cutlass!" A surge of water flew towards the bird from the river. They were shaped like blades of some sort, and they cut the bird into pieces. The pieces fell into the river, dragging the boy with them. I landed on the opposite bank, and saw Kagome dive into the water after the boy, and Inuyasha screaming at her to get the jewel. I rolled my eyes at him, knowing that Kagome would save the boy before anything. I jumped in after the jewel, following the glow as it floated down. The pieces started to morph back together, and I gasped in shock. Surprisingly, I didn't start choking on water. I wasn't even wet. I wasn't swimming either. The water swirled around me, shooting me down. The pieces flew up, and I followed after, grabbing onto one of its feet. It pulled me out of the water, and up into the air. Kagome grabbed the other foot from the boys back, and tied it onto the shaft of her arrow. She shot, and I knew it wasn't going to miss this time.

It struck the crow in the chest, and it exploded into a million pieces. The pink light surrounded it, and burned my hands before I fell towards the ground. I could have called on the water to save me, since I knew that I could control that, but my mind was blank. I kept freefalling, screaming my head off. I saw the ground get closer, and closed my eyes, waiting for the impact. I hit the ground hard, but not as hard as I should have. It only hurt a little, and made a lot of dust. I opened my eyes, and looked around. A pillar of rock had shot up and stopped my fall. I was still fifty feet from the ground at least.

"Thank you! Please, take me down now." I said, feeling stupid for talking to a rock. But, it did as I asked, and lowered to the ground, sinking back in. I brushed off my clothes, wincing at the pain in my hands, and stood up. Kagome crashed into me, hugging me as hard as she could.

"Oh Key! I'm so glad you're okay! I thought you were toast!" she exclaimed. I laughed, and hugged her back.

"Well then, call the fire department, cause I am on fiiiiiya!" **(AN: she's saying FIRE, but I spelled it how it would sound.) **I said, licking my finger and making a sizzling sound as I touched my shoulder. Kags gave me a high five, which made me hiss in pain.

"Easy there Kags, your arrow burnt my hands." I said, going to the water to cool the burning. I dipped them in, and sighed in relief.

"Oh my! Are you okay? Let me see them!" she said, and pulled one out. Her brows furrowed, and she frowned at me. "That's not funny. I thought you were actually hurt!" I looked down at my hands, and saw that the wounds were gone.

"I wasn't lying." I said, confused myself. "They really were burned, I saw them." I looked at the other hand, and saw that it was healed too. "Hmmmm…" I said, and dug one of my knives out of my boot.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Kagome asked, reaching for my arm. I rolled my eyes, and smacked her hand away.

"Chillax Kags. I just wanna try somethin'." I said, before slicing my hand open. I winced a little, and put my hand back into the water. I watched as a stream of water shot towards my hand, and healed the cut, leaving only a thin pink scar behind, just like Inuyasha's attack.

"Huh. It looks like I can control water. Earth is a definite possibility too." I said, drying my hand.

"Yeah, yeah, that's great; now let's find the jewel before something else does." Inuyasha said gruffly. I nodded, and he ran off with Kagome on his back. I followed, and helped look for the jewel.

"You sure it landed around here wench?" Inuyasha asked rudely. Kagome huffed, but nodded. The bird's head suddenly came flying towards Kagome, but Inuyasha jumped in front, slicing it in two.

"There it is!" Kagome said, and bent over to pick it up, only to gasp.

"It's…..only...a shard!" She exclaimed, holding it up for everyone could see. I face palmed myself, and Inuyasha's eye twitched.

"WHAT?" he bellowed. I had to cover my sensitive ears.

"What the hell, dude!" I screeched, smacking him again. "I have sensitive ears now! Cheese and rice!"

Xoxoxoxoxox LATER THAT AFTERNOON xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"GAH! I can't believe they don't have hot baths in Feudal Japan!" Kagome complained from the water. She shivered again, and slapped the water, spraying it everywhere. I laughed from the bank, and she glared at me.

"Why aren't you taking a bath again?" she asked me. I rolled my eyes, and explained for the hundredth time.

"Beeeecauuuuuse." I said, dragging the word out in annoyance. "First of all, I'm a demon. We don't stink. You can even ask Kaede, she's the one that told me." Kaede looked at me, silently saying '_Keep me out of this'_ "Secondly, my outfit cleaned itself, and lastly, I used my control over water to get any blood off of me earlier in the day." I smirked. She mumbled a couple of incoherent words under her breath, and dipped under the water.

"I'll be back Kaede." I said, quickly getting up and running into the woods. I jumped into the tree above Yashie silently, not even ruffling a leaf.

"Sooo, peeping on my cousin are ya?" I asked casually. He yelped, and fell out of the tree next to Kaede.

"AHHHH! HENTAI! SIT!" Kagome screeched. I winced as I heard the 'WH-BANG' that came with the sit, and jumped down next to him.

"Ooooooh." I said, 'tsk'ing. "That was a bad idea Yashie." He moaned from his hole, and Kagome changed behind some bushes.

"What's the matter with you?" Kagome yelled accusingly. "Spying on me like that! You too Keira! Why didn't you stop him?"

"And pass up a chance to catch him in the act?" I said. "If I hadn't caught him, who knows how many more times he would have done it until you noticed?"

"HEY! I'm not a pervert! That's not why I was in the tree. I only came to-." He started, before I cut him off.

"Steal the jewel, we know, we know." I rolled my eyes, and put my new kimono on over my armor. It was a light blue, with a Sakura tree on my right shoulder, the roots winding around my waist and to the edge of my left ankle. It had a red border, and a reddish orange sash. It was pretty and from fitting, but loose enough to hide my sword. I didn't bother with the sandals, seeing as my feet were tough enough to not need them. I tied my hair in a half ponytail, to keep it out of my face, and tied it again about two-thirds of the way down. **(AN: Sort of like Sango's)** Kagome came out of the bushes wearing the normal priestess garb, her hair tied like mine. She spread her school uniform out on a branch near the fire to dry, and sat next to Kaede.

A woman came running into the clearing, yelling for Kaede. They spoke in hushed tones, but I heard every word.

"Lady Kaede, it's my daughter. She was fine this morning, but said she felt a little sick. A little while later, she just collapsed! Her arms and legs moved every once in a while, but it looked like she was being controlled! I also found loose hairs all over her, like she was shedding! Please, come look at her!" she pleaded. Kaede nodded, and turned to Kagome and Inuyasha.

"I have to leave ye for a while. Try not to fight." She said, before leaving with the woman.

"Oi, wench," Inuyasha said, looking at Kags. She turned towards him expectantly. "Take those clothes off." Her brow twitched, before she picked up a large rock, (thanks to my awesome earth bending skills, heehee), and hit him over the head with it.

"You're such a pig." She said, before dusting off her hands. I guffawed a few times, and started giggling.

"I didn't say get naked STUPID! I just can't stand seeing you in those clothes!" he shouted. I started laughing, and I had to lean against a tree for support.

"Why? Because I look like Kikyo?" she asked angrily. I immediately stopped laughing. Why did Kags always have to be so blunt when she was arguing!

"It's none of your business." He said, looking away. I smiled, relieved that he didn't start a fight.

"You know, with an attitude like that, we'll never be able to work together." Kagome said, still a little angry.

"Keh, that's fine by me. Me and Keira can do this on our own." He said. '_Ohhhhh crap. He included me in this! I can't go back to Kagome's time looking like this! I'll HAVE to choose to stay here!'_

"Is that so?" she said looking at me. I gave her my most apologetic look, gazing at the ground.

"I can't go back to Tokyo looking like this Kags! Your Grandpa will freak, and I'll be tested on and all that. Please, try to understand!" I pleaded. Her gaze softened, and she nodded, smiling weakly at me.

"Well then, good-bye Inuyasha!" she snapped, walking away. He jumped after her.

"Wait! Give me the jewel shard!" He called after her. She turned around slowly, and even _I_ could tell that she was going to sit him. She reached into her top, and pulled out a small, red, drawstring bag.

"You mean this?" she asked, twirling it around her index finger. "SIT!" she yelled, and he taught the ground a few more foul words. "I think I'll keep this."

"Tell Auntie I said 'HI!' Kags!" I shouted happily. She waved, showing that she had heard me, and continued into the woods. I helped Yashie out of his hole, and he scowled, cursing Kags and the jewel.

"Come on Yashie, she's not that bad." I said. He scoffed, and put out the fire. "Let's go back to the village, and eat some lunch okay? Food always makes me feel better!" I said, smiling and rushing ahead of him. "I'll race ya! Last one there is a rotten egg!" He grinned at the challenge, and chased after me.

We stopped when we got to the village. Well, I stopped. Inuyasha had to catch up first. Suddenly, a group of young women came floating eerily towards us. They all had weapons of some sort, from kitchen knives to sickles. They all flew at Inuyasha, ignoring me completely. I felt a new demonic aura, and smelt Kagome's fear near the well.

"Keep those girls busy Yashie!" I said, getting ready to run. "Kagome's in trouble! I have to help her!"

"Keira! Get back here and help me! I can't hit girls!" He shouted, his voice quickly fading into the distance. I ran as fast as I could, but when I got there, Kagome was gone. I sniffed the air, and smelt a demon. The scent was still fresh. The demon had just left before I got there. I checked by the well, and Kags' clothes laid in a pile near the edge. I faintly smelt her blood, and saw a drop of it on the ground.

"Damn it all!" I said, and jumped into the well. I was surrounded by blue light, and landed on the balls of my feet. I spluttered and coughed from the rancid smell that hit my sensitive nose. I jumped out, and ran into the house. Aunt Rachio turned towards me with a smile, which dropped as she saw me.

"FATHER!" she yelled out, and Grandpa came rushing in.

"What? What is it?" he said, taking some sutras out of his priest garb and glancing around. He froze when he saw how I looked, and threw then all at me. "DEMON BE GONE!" he yelled, and some of the pieces of paper hit me in the face. I blinked slowly, and picked them off of me.

"Sorry old man, but I don't think these will work on me." I smirked, ripping them in half. "Now, where's Kags?" I asked. Aunt Rachio looked relieved, and then guilty.

"Oh Keira dear! I'm so sorry! I didn't recognize you, you look so different!" she gushed. I shrugged, and sat down on the couch by Souta.

"Yeah, right. So, I suppose Kags told you what happened?" I asked. Souta nodded, and returned to his video game. "Hey squirt, why don't you go play soccer? Isn't that what you want to do when you grow up?"

"I am playing soccer." He said, pointing at the screen. Sure enough, there were two different teams running up and down the field kicking a ball. I laughed, and ruffled his hair, standing up. "Aw come on!" He whined. "You made me miss the pass!" I laughed again, and ran up the stairs to my room. I finally got to see myself fully in a mirror.

My skin was a perfect mix of tan and white, and totally flawless. My eyes were still the same, but my hair was longer, and slightly wavy, adding to the black and other strange colors. I was several inches taller, and my muscles were more toned. I even had a six pack! I was thinner than I was before, quite an accomplishment really, and more curvy. My face was smooth and firm, and ten times as pretty as I remembered.

"Keira, dinnertime!" Rachio shouted, and I rushed downstairs, taking a seat. I gobbled down my share, before Kagome had even gotten out of the bathtub.

"Thanks Auntie, it was great!" I rushed, and ran back up to my room, grabbing my makeup bag. I grabbed my favorite color of nail polish, Gala Gold, and started to paint my n-claws. I smiled at the finished product, and went back downstairs to eat again.

I was just eating the rest of my third helping when Inuyasha barged in the door. Kagome dropped her chopsticks in shock, and I sighed tiredly.

"Oi, who said that you could just leave whenever you wanted to wench?" he demanded. I turned towards him to reply for Kagome, who was still in shock, when I noticed a hair on his shoulder.

"Yashie? Is that….hair?" I asked. Kagome got up from her seat, and looked at his shoulder.

"What? You can see it?" he said. I nodded, and looked at him curiously.

"Can't you?" I asked. He shook his head no, and my brows furrowed. Kagome picked up the hair and it tightened around her hand, cutting it and drawing blood. I quickly grabbed the thread, and cut it, following it out the door. Inuyasha and Kagome came after me, Yashie pulling Kags out the door.

"But I don't want to go back!" She whined, and tried to grab onto the door frame. I glared at them, making them both freeze.

"Can it you two. I'm trying to keep track of this hair." I snapped, and followed it into the well house. What I saw was NOT GOOD.

AN: okay, so…was it good? Am I depicting the original characters right? Do I need more detail? Please, don't hesitate to tell me! R&R peoples! I should have more chapters up in a day or two!


	3. A new demonic aura!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Inuyasha.

AWW MAN!

Multiple tendrils or hair were spewing out of the well, slithering towards the door. Kags and Yashie came running in, slamming the door shut behind them. I dodged as the tendrils shot at me, leaping off the wall. Inuyasha and Kags were dodging as best they could with only one of them being able to see it, before she grabbed a single strand in her hands. I ignored Kags' family banging outside the building, demanding that Kagome let them in.

"Here, cut this one! I think it's controlling the rest!" She cried, and held the strand out for Yashie to cut. As soon as he sliced it, the other tendrils fell limp, sinking back down the well. Yashie took off his outer robe…thing **(sorry, not good with feudal Japanese clothing...)**, and handed it to Kagome.

"It's made from the robe of the Fir Rat. It's stronger than most armor." He said, looking anywhere but at Kagome.

"Uhm, thanks Inuyasha…" Kagome said slowly, putting the garment on over her skirt and sweater.

"Come on!" He said, grabbing Kagome and jumping down after the hair. I sighed in irritation before jumping down after them.

"I don't understand. If Yura already got the jewel fragment, why is she still coming after us?" Kags muttered.

"WHAT?" Yashie said, at the same time I said,

"YOU LET HER STEAL IT? WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE SELF DEFENCE I TAUGHT YOU!"

"In front of you!" Kagome shouted and I dodged another tendril. Inuyasha was about to slash through the tentacle of hair coming at him, but I knew he couldn't see it. So, naturally, I "helped" him out. I summoned a wall of rock in front of him. The hair was deflected off, and the wall sank back, but there was more hair coming.

"Well, come on Kags, we don't have all day! Find the controlling strand!" I snapped, dodging and blocking two more tendrils of hair.

"You know Keira, you have a sword. Wouldn't that be easier than dodging all the time?" Inuyasha said, slightly annoyed at Kagome, who was yelling in his ear. I wanted to slap myself. I threw my kimono on the ground, revealing my armor underneath, and drew my sword.

"Bring it on," I muttered, and started slashing at the hair. The sword hit with a hollow sounding CLANK, and bounced off. "Just freakin' GREAT!" I snarled, throwing the sword away.

"Inuyasha, Key! This way!" Kags called, following some unseen thing into the forest.

We ran for a while, before I smelt something strange and revolting.

"Yashie, what _is_ that?" I asked him, wrinkling my nose. Yashie barely looked my way before stopping near a campsite. There was a small group of bodies near a campfire, the heads cut clean off. Blood still dripped from the intricate web of hair surrounding the trees around us.

"It's human blood. Fresh by the looks of these bodies." He said, dropping Kagome off his back. She slumped to the ground, her eyes wide.

"Kags, are you okay?" I asked, kneeling by her side.

"Don't tell me that you wanna go home because you're scared." Inuyasha mocked. I growled at him, and his ears flattened slightly. Kagome picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows, clutching them tightly.

"I think I'll borrow these," she said, standing straight again. She climbed back onto Yashie's back, and we took off again.

"Why'd you take those? It's not like you'll hit anything." He said. Kagome's fists clenched, and her eye twitched.

"I can with some practice!" she snapped. Inuyasha didn't look convinced.

"When did you practice?" I asked, confused. She hadn't done anything having to do with Feudal Japan since she left.

"I _will_ eventually!" she snapped, looking ahead of her. I would have laughed, if the situation hadn't been so serious. I sensed the same demonic energy as earlier; very close this time, and one very, VERY far away. Even though it was so far, it was still disconcertingly strong. I chewed my lip, trying to decide whether to go after Yura or the new aura.

"Yashie? Do you think you can handle Yura? I forgot that I had something important to do. Like, direly important." I said, slowing. He scoffed, looking my way.

"What do _you_ think?" he said, picking up speed again. I turned towards the aura, speeding away. If there was no trouble- though, with my luck there probably would be- I could make it to the aura in just over two days.

xoxoxox THE NEXT MORNING xoxoxox

I was still running, like I had been all night. The demon's aura was moving, but I was gaining slightly. It became more and more powerful the closer I got, and it made me antsy. How could one thing be so powerful?

The snapping of a twig made me stop dead. I looked around, but could sense no movement, aura, or scent. I cautiously continued forward, walking instead of running.

*RUSTLE, RUSTLE* I snapped my head towards the sound, hoping to catch what was making the noise. I only saw a squirrel digging in some leaves. I sighed in relief, and laughed. I was scared of a _squirrel_? I shook my head, smiling, and continued walking.

Suddenly, I sensed something coming towards me. My eyes were the only thing that moved; the only thing that gave any indication that I knew something was coming at me. I reached out at the last millisecond, and grabbed the offending appendage. It was….slimy! I sank my claws into the soft flesh, and pulled. A giant lizard came crashing out of the forest onto the ground by my feet. It was at least seven feet tall, with green scales and a yellow underbelly. Yeah, the thing I was grabbing onto? It was its tongue. It opened its red beady eyes, only to cower in fear.

"Muh! Munna oopth hnunna hmmpf." It tried to say. I released its tongue, and it slurped it back into its mouth before bowing low to the ground.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice emotionless. It shivered slightly, before replying.

"I am Katashi, a slave trader from Kajiaba." He bowed lower, his forehead touching the ground. "Please, forgive me for my incompetence. Had I known you were an Element Demon, I would not have been so foolish."

"Tell me Katashi," I said, my voice still cold. "What were you planning to do if I hadn't been an Element Demon?"

"I would have either eaten you, or sold you as a slave to a more powerful demon." I growled in disgust. The lizard trembled and whimpered. I picked him up by the front of his shirt and shook him.

"You will stop selling slaves. Find another job." I snarled. He nodded frantically, and I released him. I turned to walk away when he called out to me.

"Wait! I have a gift for you!" he called, reaching into his bag and pulling something out. It was a snow white bird; an owl. It had a hood over its head and its feet were tied together, preventing it from moving. I accepted, more for the bird's benefit than my own.

"Thank you Katashi. Remember what I said." I called over my shoulder. I ran for a few minutes before untying the bird's feet. It squawked from inside the bag, and opened and closed it talons on my arm, adjusting to the feel. I removed the hood next, smiling in delight at its eyes. They were a deep royal purple, growing black near the inside. It hooted at me, blinking its eyes slowly.

"I think I'll name you Kizoku. After all, you _are_ very noble looking." I said. A flood of warm traveled from my head to my toes, and back up again, before disappearing. Kizoku's feathers changed colors at the tips, turning of course, red, a very light blue, dark blue, green, and brown. '_Hello Mistress.'_ A voice said from in my mind. I jumped slightly, before looking at Kizoku.

'_Was that you?'_ I asked in my thoughts. I swear, the owl smirked!

'_Of course it was Mistress. Who else would it be?'_

'_How are you talking to me?' _ I asked.

'_When you named me, you created a bond between the two of us. Now, I will live as long as you, be able to talk to you, use the elements, and sense when you are in trouble.'_

'_That's really…..convenient.'_

'_What would you like me to do?' _she asked. I thought about it for a minute.

'_There is a very powerful aura I am following. I am trying to find its owner. Why don't you scout ahead? I am afraid there's not much else I have for you to do.'_ I said, and she launched off my arm silently flying into the air. I smiled, and started running again. The aura had faded a little, and I had lost some of my progress. I would have to run faster.

Xoxoxox THE NEXT EVENING xoxoxox

I was close to the demon now. It wouldn't be long before I reached it. I blocked my scent and aura, (a trick that Kizoku had taught me this morning), and advanced forward. The demon was approaching a group of Samurai warriors. I cut around the back of the warrior's camp, hoping to meet in the middle. I hid behind a tent and listened to them converse. I couldn't see the demon yet, but I could tell it was a male.

"I require a boat." He said coldly. It made me shiver, hearing the man talk that way. The general stepped forward, laughing at him.

"A boat? Before a battle? And I suppose we're supposed to give it?" he laughed.

"Yes." The demon man said, his voice dangerous. I stepped forward before this could get any worse.

"Well, you heard the man. Give him a boat." I said, appearing right behind the General. The demon was tall and lean, but muscular, with long silver hair. He had golden eyes, two purple stripes on each side of his face, pointed ears, fangs and claws. He was wearing a red and white kimono and white hakamas, with a golden obi with grey spiked armor protecting his stomach and left shoulder. The General dropped the boar he was holding, as the demon man cut off his head.

"That guy's not human!" one soldier gasped.

"He's a demon!" one shouted.

"Well DUH. What did you think he was? A fairy?" I sneered. A little green toad came running through the long grass, carrying a two headed staff.

"Lord Sesshomaru! I regret to inform you that there are no boats!" he said, looking around. He finally caught sight of the dock and stuttered out, "Un-Unless you count those ones o-over there."

"Position the staff Jaken." He said, and the little imp scrambled around.

"Y-Yes my Lord." He squeaked, and put the staff down. The woman's face creaked open, and screeched. "It appears the grave we seek is elsewhere my Lord."

"Is that so?" he said, turning away towards the boats. "Jaken, I leave them to you."'

"Yes Lord Sesshomaru. Hee-hee-hee." He snickered, before turning towards the samurai. "Now! Face the wrath of the staff of skulls!" He pointed the staff at us, and the old man opened his mouth. Fire spewed out, burning everyone around me. I stood strong however, and saw that I had my hands held in front of me. They seemed to be stopping the fire from hitting me. The wind created by the attack blew my hair back behind me, but the heat wasn't unpleasant. When the fire stopped, the toad gasped in surprise.

"H-How are you still standing? You should be a pile of ashes!" I only laughed, and summoned some water from the lagoon.

"Silly toad." I giggled. "I'm an Element Demon. Fire can't touch me." '_I hope._' I added in my head. His eyes widened and he gulped visibly. "You shouldn't have tried to kill me. Now I'm mad." I said, my voice colder than Lord Sesshomaru's had been. I used my water ability to fling him up in the air. While I flung him into the water, I wondered what else I could do. I knew that there were five elements. Wind, water, earth, fire, and plant life. I had all the colors that represented them, so I should be able to control them all. Right? It wouldn't hurt to try. I threw him into the air with water, and hit him with a pillar of rock. He came soaring down, but I used my wind talent to throw him back up. I caught him with vines, and strung him up.

"Now, for the grand finale! It's going to finish with a BANG!" I said, giggling. My hands caught fire, and I started to make a fireball.

"LORD SESSHOMARU!" he shrieked. I was about to throw it, when I was slammed from my side. I went flying, but landed on my feet thanks to gymnastics, reflexes and tai-kwon-do. Lord Sesshomaru appeared in front of me, and tried to slam his claws into my head. I easily dodged his attack. It looked so _slow_. His hand slammed into a tree, sinking in, and I could literally feel the tree cry out in pain.

"Hello again, Lord Sesshomaru was it?" I said, brushing a leaf from my armor. I made the tree grow around his hand, but he pulled out of it easily.

"Who are you?" he demanded as I dodged another of his attacks. I smiled, summoning a rock wall to block the punch he sent my way. His fist went about halfway through before it was stopped.

"I am Keira, an Element Demon from Tokyo , Japan, 500 years in the future. That's about all I know." I admitted sheepishly, dodging another blow. I felt a pain in my neck, like someone was trying to strangle me.

'_Mistress! Are you okay?' _ Kizoku asked. The pain receded, but I had a feeling that it wasn't my own pain I was feeling.

'_I'm fine Kizoku.'_ I thought to her, jumping to avoid Sesshomaru's whip.

"I have to go. Can we finish this later?" I asked, blocking his hand, glowing green with poison. I grabbed his wrist, flipping him over my shoulder and onto the ground. "Never mind, I just won. See you later Sesshomaru!" I called, sprinting away and into the woods again.

'_Kizoku, I have to go back and find my friends. Their names are Inuyasha and Kagome.'_ I thought. '_Inuyasha is a half dog demon that wears all red. Kagome has black hair and blue eyes, and wears green and white. She's also the protector of the jewel, and a priestess.'_

'_I'll fly ahead and keep a lookout for them Mistress_.'

'_You can fly faster than I can run_?' I thought in surprise. She laughed in her head for a second, before beating her wings a little faster.

'_Of course I can! How useful would I be if I wasn't fast? Always stuck at my master's or mistress's side…'_ she trailed off. I shrugged, and continued onward.

xoxoxox A FEW DAYS LATER xoxoxox

"KAGOME!" I yelled, bursting through the bushes. I froze mid-step when I finally saw her. She was straddling Inuyasha, yanking his shirt open.

"Take it off!" she yelled, yanking harder.

"Q-Q-Quit it!" he yelled back, grabbing her hands, trying to stop her from ripping his shirt off.

"Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" I laughed, almost falling over. Kaede came into view with a few children following her.

"Quickly, shield ye eyes!" she said, seeing the pair on the ground.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA *WHEEZE* HA HA HA HA HA !" I laughed, leaning against a tree. I could hear Kizoku laughing in the branches above me.

"It seems you two are getting along better than I thought." Kaede said. Inuyasha jumped up with a "Keh, idiot.", knocking Kagome onto the ground.

"So….what did you guys do while I was gone?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively. Their heads whipped in my direction, and Kagome turned red while Inuyasha looked horrified. He turned on Kagome angrily.

"Haven't you figured it out yet? My body's different!" he said, showing Kagome his chest. I frowned. Had he gotten hurt? Had Kags gotten hurt?

"That horrible wound, it's already gone!" She exclaimed, staring.

"Did you guys get hurt or something? I thought you said you could handle Yura!" I scolded, wagging my finger at them both.

"Oi! While you were off doing whatever, we got the jewel shard back, and defeated Yura!" He yelled. I scowled.

"I wasn't doing "whatever", I was going after a really strong demonic energy." I said, huffing.

"Did you find who it belonged to?" Inuyasha asked. I rolled my eyes. NOW he decided that he was interested.

"Of course I did, but not before I ran into a lizard demon that gave me Kizoku and told me what kind of demon I was." I said, holding out my arm for Kizoku to land on. She spread her wings and seemed to bow.

"Who the hell is Kizoku?" He demanded. I growled, and Kizoku seemed to hiss at him.

"The multicolored owl on my arm is Kizoku." Kizoku ruffled her feathers, puffing up.

'_Why, that disrespectful little bastard! I'll peck his eyes out and shove them down his throat! Stupid son of a-.' _

'_Kizoku,' _ I said sharply in my mind. She cringed at my tone. '_Inuyasha is like family to me, and I would appreciate it if you stopped insulting him.' _

_ 'As you wish Mistress.'_ She muttered. She calmed down, but still glared at him.

"And before you ask Inuyasha, I'm an Element Demon or something like that. I can control all five of the elements."

"I wasn't going to ask that," he said, rolling his eyes and tucking his arms into his sleeves. "Who was the demon that had such a strong aura?"

"Hmmm… I forget his name, but he was a very good fighter. He was about this tall," I said, holding my hand about nine inches above my own. " And had silver hair, purple stripes on his cheeks, and golden eyes. He kept attacking me with some kind of poison claws." I said. Inuyasha snarled, and punched a tree, chipping off some of the bark.

"Sesshomaru!" he bit out, kicking the tree this time.

"Yeah that's it! Lord Sesshomaru. He had that toad thing with him, ohh what's his name….Jaken!" I said, smirking at the memory.

"Damn!" Inuyasha cursed. I raised a brow.

"Do you know him?" I asked. Inuyasha laughed bitterly.

"Know him? He's my bastard of a half-brother."

"Well, he's a bastard that got beaten by a girl," I smirked. Inuyasha 's mouth fell open, before he looked down at his chest and smacked at something.

"Well, if it ain't old Myoga the flea." He said, watching as the squashed demon floated to the ground.

"Flea?" Kagome squeaked. I watched as he puffed himself out again, and started rambling to Inuyasha. Kagome abruptly stopped his talking by spraying him with bug spray. I deadpanned, and walked into Kaede's hut.


	4. The UnMother

The Un-Mother

"Why would someone be looking for your father's grave? That doesn't make sense." I said, looking at Myoga.

"It became far too dangerous for me to stay as a mere grave keeper so I-." he said, only to be cut off by Inuyasha.

"You ran away didn't ya!" he scowled. Myoga laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"I remember hearing that your father was an extremely powerful demon who ruled the west." Kaede said.

"I don't really remember him" Inuyasha said uninterestedly.

"His father was a very great and imposing demon lord, and hid blood was very delicious." Myoga said dreamily.

"What about his mother?" Kagome asked.

"She was a beauty beyond compare- OOF!"

"Just shut up about it! She died a long time ago." He growled, storming out into the night. I sighed and stood up, following him out.

I found him sitting in the Sacred Tree, staring at the sky.

"Yashie." I called softly.

"Whadda ya want?" he snapped, not even bothering to look down. I rubbed my face with my hands and sighed.

"Why do you always make things so difficult?" I mumbled. I jumped up next to him and tucked my hands into my pockets. "I lost my mother too Yashie. And only a few years ago too." I said, sighing sadly.

"Look, I don't really want to talk about it okay?" he said, still irritated. I nodded and jumped down.

"Keira! There you are!" Kagome said, running up to me with her bike at her side. She stared at Inuyasha for a while, before I sensed a BIG demonic aura. Inuyasha slammed on top of me and Kagome, slamming us into the ground.

"Get down!" he said, looking up at the sky. I growled and squirmed out from under him, standing straight and brushing off my clothes. I looked up and saw a carriage flying slowly across the sky. The cloth door flew aside and inside sat a woman wrapped in chains surrounded by little green imps.

"M-Mother?" Inuyasha stuttered. A massive hand came out of the sky and crushed the carriage, grabbing onto his mother. Inuyasha jumped up to save him when I sensed Sesshomaru's aura. I reached out to grab him, but a stream of fire shot out before him. I blocked the flame before any hit Kagome, and saw Jaken and Sesshomaru on the demon's shoulder.

"Jaken. We talk now and kill later," He said.

"Yes My Lord," Jaken said pulling his staff back.

"You stupid toad, you could have hit my cousin." I growled. I reversed the flame and shot it back towards Jaken. He narrowly avoided the attack, but it caught the sleeve of his shirt on fire. He flailed his arm around, and almost fell off the demon's shoulder. I laughed as he scrambled around trying to put out the fire. Kagome elbowed me in the side, and I hardly flinched. I cleared my throat and got serious again.

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha yelled. Sesshomaru smirked from his perch, looking down at him.

"So I see you remembered the face of your elder brother." He said. Kagome gasped from behind Inuyasha, who growled.

"Well I'll be damned." I said, looking from Inuyasha to Sesshomaru and back again. The only resemblances I could see were the eyes and the hair color. There weren't many others, if any. Sesshomaru looked at Kagome hiding behind Inuyasha's sleeve, and to me. I grinned mockingly, waggling my fingers at him.

"A human? How fitting Inuyasha. Although I don't know how you get her to stay with you." He said, tilting his head in my direction. I rolled my eyes, scoffing at him.

"Unless you want me to kick your sorry ass again, I'd shut up." I warned, tossing a fireball from one hand to another. His eyes flashed red for the tiniest fraction of a second. Too fast for Inuyasha to notice evidently, as he didn't react.

"A half demon whose mother is a vile creature such as a human. You have brought shame to our family." He sneered, obviously continuing from the earlier conversation.

"Did you come all the way just to tell me that?" Inuyasha yelled, waving his fist at him. I giggled at the cartoonish style, but stopped as Sesshomaru replied heatedly.

"Don't be a fool! I have no such time to waste. I wish to know the location of our father's tomb."

"His tomb? I have no idea."

"Well then, your mother will just have to suffer for it." he said, and slashed the demon in the face with his poison whip. The demon roared, and clenched the fist holding Inuyasha's mother. She cried out in pain, and Inuyasha snarled, moving to jump towards her. I held his arm tightly, holding him back.

"She's dead Yashie. She's not real." I said quietly. He nodded, and relaxed slightly.

"You think I'd fall for that? She died years ago!" he said. Jaken waved his staff around, shouting indignantly.

"You baka! Bringing back the dead is an easy feat for one as powerful as Lord Sesshomaru!"

I saw Inuyasha starting to believe the toad's words.

"It's true Inuyasha. I have come back from the dead." The woman called. Just freaking great! Now he really believed. He jumped up and cut off the demon's arm, making his mother fall. I caught her, and immediately dropped her on the ground by Kagome. Something about her didn't feel right. It was almost like she had a demonic aura, but it was covered up by something. Kagome rushed to her side, and I saw Inuyasha get hit by the demon's other hand. He came crashing towards us, and I didn't have time to make a barrier of any kind without hitting Inuyasha. His "mother" held up her hands and an orb of white light shot out, blinding us all.

I woke up and saw Inuyasha being sucked into the woman, who now had no face. I sensed that Kagome was awake but she wasn't moving. I saw the little imps tying me down, and I sliced through them with my claws. I ran at Inuyasha, pulling on his arm.

"Let go of him! He's mine!" she yelled, grabbing onto my hand. I gasped as I was sucked into a memory of the fateful day I lost my mother. A memory so far buried that I had almost forgotten it. Almost.

0909090 FLASHBACK 090909090

_A human Keira and her mother walked down the street on a balmy summer evening. Keira had her arms full of grocery bags, as did her mother._

"_Hurry up Keira. It's getting dark out." She said, walking a little faster and glancing around nervously. Keira laughed, not bothering to go faster._

"_Calm down momma. It won't be dark for another like, ten minutes." She said lazily, shifting the bags in her arms._

"_The dark is never safe. No matter what you do, how many precautions you take." She said, quickening her pace to almost a jog. Keira walked a little faster, easily catching up to her mother with her long legs._

"_What do you me-." She started, only to run into her mother, who had stopped in her tracks. _

"_No, no you can't take her. She's safe to be around!" Her mother yelled into an alley. Two men appeared from behind them, and pushed them forward into the darkness. Keira blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. She could barely see the outline of a large man in a trench coat. _

"_What's going on here?" she asked, standing protectively in front of her mother. The man laughed, grabbing onto her arm._

"_She acts just like me, Lily. But she looks so much like you." (Her mother was half American, hence the non-Japanese name.)He said, dragging me towards him. My mother struggled against the men holding her back, trying to get to me._

"_No! I said you can't take her! She isn't dangerous! She doesn't have to be destroyed!" she cried. I tensed._

"_Destroyed? What are you talking about?" I asked, looking towards my mother._

"_I'm sorry, but I can't risk it. The combination is just too dangerous!" he said, almost pleading. An eerie red light appeared in front of my face, making it impossible to see anything. My mother broke free of her captors as the light flew towards me, and stood in front of it. It seemed to blow out, but something spattered my face. The light came back, and faded out. Then, a white light illuminated the alley. I saw my mother slumped in the man's arms, blood staining her white blouse. She didn't look to be breathing, and I started to silently cry._

"_I…couldn't…let her….own fath…er kill…her." She breathed, before going still. _

"_It wasn't supposed to end this way." He said, laying her gently on the ground. He turned towards me, and held out a bloody hand. "Come on daughter. I guess I won't kill you after all." I snarled, and willed myself to become cold. _

"_I have no desire to come with you. You are no father of mine. I suggest you leave before you do more damage than you already have." I said emotionlessly. He jerked back for a second, and let his hand fall._

"_I beg you, come with me. You'll be safe." He said desperately. I growled, letting my mask slip for a second. _

"_Do you see what you've done? How can I be safe with you? I'll explain it a little more clearly for you and your tiny brain. I HATE YOU. HATE. H-A-T-E. I want NOTHING to do with you ever again. You are NO FATHER OF MINE!" I shrieked. He seemed to finally get the message, and turned to walk away._

"_Fine, I see. I won't bother you again," he said, walking away. I hugged my mother's body to me, ignoring the blood soaking onto my new jeans. I closed her eyes, and cried for her._

09090909090 END FLASHBACK 0909090

I gasped, and fell to my knees, shivering. Tears were streaming steadily down my face, and I was gasping for air. Kagome and Inuyasha ran to my side.

"Key? Are you okay?" she asked, trying to hug me. I dug my nails into the ground, forcing myself to stop crying. I shrugged her off, and stood up, my rage surely the only thing showing on my face.

"I'm fine." I bit out, looking around. I sensed Sesshomaru coming towards us, and the demon woman exploded in a burst of green light. He tried to attack Inuyasha, but I summoned a rock wall to stop him. I tried to anyway. The earth didn't respond to my commands, nor did any other of my powers. Sesshomaru grabbed onto his neck, and dug his fingers in Inuyasha's right eye. He dragged out a shiny black pearl, and I finally attacked. I grabbed onto his wrist, and the pearl dropped to the ground.

"Do. Not. Touch. Him." I snarled, throwing him backwards. He sailed into a dead tree, and created a large cloud of dust. He came flying back through it, his whip glowing. I stepped backwards to dodge, and crushed the pearl. A portal opened, and I was sucked into it along with Sesshomaru. I could finally use my powers, and shot myself forward with my wind. I came out of the portal and landed on a skeletal bird. I saw a giant dog skeleton wearing armor in the middle of hundreds of bluffs and buttes. The bird glided towards the skeleton, and I jumped off, landing on the head. I jumped into the eye socket, and down the throat. I landed silently on the balls of my feet, looking around. I saw a golden pedestal with a sword sticking out of it. The sword looked chipped and rusty, like it had been sitting there for hundreds of years. I felt something lay gently at my left side, and I jumped. It was my sword. I thought I had left that when I had fought Yura, since it didn't cut anything. I tied the sheath tighter to my side, and made sure the blade was in all the way. I shrugged my kimono off, since it was dirty and tattered and would only get in the way. I tied my hair in a high ponytail just as Sesshomaru entered the skeleton. He landed just where I had been standing, and I jumped up, hanging onto one of the ribs. I created a cloud, and floated above, watching him. I didn't bother to cover my scent or aura, since he had probably sensed me as soon as he came within a ten mile radius.

I watched as he tried to pull the sword out, when an aura flared out towards his hand. It made me feel antsy, and uncomfortable. His hand was surrounded by crackling energy, and he pulled back, the appendage smoking.

"Figures. There's a kekkai on it." he said, watching as his hand returned to normal.

"Kekkai? A spiritual barrier?" I said, not intending for him to hear me. He looked up at me.

"You know of them?" he asked. I nodded, floating down slowly.

"A kekkai is a man-made spiritual ward. They can be made by any level of priest or priestess, but the more powerful the monk or priestess, the longer the barrier lasts." I said, reaching towards the barrier. It looked like a light pink dome, and it pulsed every few seconds. It hummed around my hand, and I could just barely pass through it before it rejected me.

"Why did you try to touch the sword when the barrier is so obvious?"

"What are you talking about? I can't see anything." He said. I blinked. "Only priests and priestesses can see these types of barriers."

"What's the most dangerous combination of demon or priest or anything you can think of?" I asked, thinking hard.

"A powerful demon and a powerful priest or priestess I would say. They could protect themselves from demons and priests or priestesses." He said slowly, raising a brow.

"'The combination is too dangerous,'" I repeated lowly.

"What are you-." He said.

"SESSHOMARU!" Inuyasha shouted, bursting in with Kagome on his back. He came rushing towards Sesshomaru, and I back flipped onto the pedestal to avoid Iron Reaver Soul Stealer. The attack missed by at least a foot, turning towards me instead.

"Shit!" I cursed, deflecting the attack with wind blades, and an ice dome to be safe.

"Baka! Are you aiming?" Sesshomaru sneered, slicing at him with his whip.

"Just pull the sword out already!" Kagome yelled after about five minutes of fighting. She stood up, using the sword as support.

"Now, die Inuyasha!" Sesshomaru said, slicing towards Inuyasha. Kagome gasped, and lurched towards Inuyasha, pulling the sword out. The guys and Kagome froze, staring at the sword.

"Uh, sorry. It slipped." She said nervously. Inuyasha tried to get a hit on Sesshomaru, but failed miserably. Sesshomaru sped towards Kagome, but I stopped him.

"I may be able to have a civil conversation with you, but that doesn't mean you can get anywhere near Kagome." I said. "I can sense how dangerous you are from miles away. I don't trust you." He seemed mildly surprised, but didn't stand down. He tried to step around me, and I stopped him again. His frown deepened, and he tensed.

"You can't touch her." I said, not moving.

"Who are you to order me around?" he sneered. He drew his hand back and it started to glow green. I dodged easily, and we started to spar. It went on like this for a few minutes, before he finally got a hit on me. His hand pierced through my armor and out my back. I grunted, and fell to one knee, grimacing.

"Well, that kinda hurts," I rasped. I saw him walk to Kagome with slightly blurred vision. I felt the poison burning in my wound. He killed Kagome with his poison claws as I watched in horror. Suddenly, as my wound closed the rest of the way, I felt so ANGRY. My vision turned red, and my sword rattled. I pulsed once, before a pain like knives filled my head. I moaned, drawing the guys' attention back to me. I held my head in my hands, trying to ease the pain somehow. Another pain shot through my head, and I bit my lip, trying not to scream.

"What did you do?" Inuyasha shouted at his older brother. Sesshomaru scoffed.

"I did nothing you fool." He said, and that was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

I woke up in the dark.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I called out. The only thing that I heard was my echo. I walked until I saw a pink light, and sped up a little. I made out the shape of two women, and they seemed to be fighting.

"Let me go! She needs my help don't you see that?" One yelled. The other threw a chain at her.

"She does NOT need you. Stand down!" I could see them more clearly, and they looked like…ME! The one in chains had my hair, but her eyes were red. The other looked like me as a human, and her eyes glowed pink.

"Who the heck are you?" I said, putting a hand on my sword. The human me sighed, and the demon me laughed.

"I am you inner miko Keira, and she," she said, motioning towards the demon me, "Is your inner demon."

"O…kay?" I said, confused out of my mind. The ground rumbled under my feet, so much that I almost fell over.

"Oh dear." Miko me said. The demon me laughed again, breaking out of her chains.

"We have to do something. Her friends are toast if we don't do something." She said. The Miko me nodded, turning towards me.

"You can release me and let your miko powers loose, or you can let your demon out, and transform." She said.

"What type of demon am I exactly?" I asked. Demon me spoke up this time.

"You are 55 percent Elemental demon, 30 percent Inu demon, and 15 percent miko. So, when you transform, you will turn into a dog." She said. I thought it over for a second.

"I think I'll let the demon out. I can't risk purifying Inuyasha." I said to miko me. She nodded, smiling encouragingly. "Now, I have one rule. Don't hurt my friends or comrades, okay? You can do that right?" I asked demon me. She nodded, and I returned to my body. I saw a dog Sesshomaru attacking Inuyasha, and then my vision turned red again. I felt power flow through me, and my body changed shape. I tuned into a large black dog, with the flame on my forehead, and a brown, green, blue, and white multicolored tail. My paws were surrounded by fire, and I assumed my eyes were red.

I launched myself at him, knocking him away from Inuyasha. I bit into his shoulder, and he growled before tossing me away. I slammed into the side of the skeleton, cracking one of the ribs. Inuyasha was yelling, and his sword transformed into a larger one, which was sharp and long. He sliced up Sesshomaru's leg, before chopping it off completely. The wound gushed blood, and he fell to the ground. After a second, he changed into a white orb and flew away. The red receded from my vision, and I changed back to my normal state.

"Come on Keira! Let's go before Sesshomaru gets back." Kagome said, pulling Inuyasha through the portal. I stood to follow, but the portal closed before I could get through it.

"Well, that's just fan-freaking-tastic!" I growled. I let my aura flare out, trying to find Inuyasha or Kagome. I only found the very weak aura of Sesshomaru, and it kept fading in and out. I assumed that he was fading in and out of consciousness.

"Ugh, I'm gunna regret this later." I said, using my cloud to fly in his direction.

I found him in a clearing surrounded by tall trees, still bleeding. I landed by him, and he whipped his head around, snarling. His eyes were still red, probably to protect himself.

"Calm down," I snapped, rolling my eyes. His eyes turned golden again, and he relaxed.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. I knelt by his side, pulling up his sleeve.

"I'm going to heal this." I said, touching it gently. He jerked, and I sighed. "Hold on a second." I closed my eyes and called on my miko abilities and infused it with my water ability. The now pink water surrounded the wound, and I healed the wound. I scrunched my eyebrows. 'Maybe I can grow his arm back.' I thought.

"Hold out your other arm." I said. He raised a brow, but did as I said. I started from the shoulder, and memorized the feel of the muscles, and travelled down the arm all the way to the ends of his claws. I moved back to the other side, and moved my hands where the arm should be. I focused really hard, and the flesh started to grow back. I got halfway done, when I felt my nose start to bleed. I yanked my hands away, leaving a half-finished arm.

"Shit. I'm starting to hemorrhage." I said, wiping my nose on my sleeve. I sat against a tree tiredly. "I'll have to finish in a little while. My brain needs to heal."

"I didn't know you were part miko." He said, pulling his sleeve down. I laughed.

"Neither did I, until my inner demon told me back inside the skeleton." I said.

"What else are you?" he asked.

"I'm 55 percent Elemental demon, 30 percent Inu demon, and 15 percent miko," I said. He didn't respond, which bugged the crap out of me. I took some water and swirled it around me, making all sorts of shapes and designs.

"You have waited long enough. Finish my arm," He demanded. I closed my eyes, resisting the urge to growl. I heard my inner demon growling, despite my miko's best efforts to keep her calm. I stood up, and continued growing his arm. When I finally finished, he had a perfect copy of his previous arm. I stood up and started to walk away.

"I am in your debt…" he trailed off.

"My name is Keira. And yes, you certainly are." I said, walking away. I felt his aura flare out dangerously before receding again, and I ran instead of walking. A skeletal bird swooped down, and I jumped onto its back. I slapped my cheek as I felt something bite it.

"Myoga?" I said. He floated down onto the palm of my hand, and popped into his normal shape again.

"Keira! There you are! Everyone is so worried about you!" he gushed. He snapped his fingers, and another portal opened. I sighed in relief.

"I'm glad to be out of there!" I said.


	5. Author's Note! Someone draw Keira!

AN! Okay, I'm really sorry for putting up this and not a new chapter, but I need a favor of you. I would like someone, ANYONE, to draw Keira for me. I am a terrible artist, and I would like to see what she would look like on paper. So PLEASE. I'm BEGGING you, if you have any art talent AT ALL, send me a picture. Thanks!


	6. Darn Monkey!

**Once again, I would like to add that I DO NOT own Inuyasha. **

How Does a Monkey Cause So Much Trouble?

"Oh Inuyasha!" Kagome called up to him. Inuyasha was perched in the Sacred Tree, like always, staring off into space. His ear twitched, and he looked down at me and Kagome. I leaned lazily against another tree, knowing very well what her plan was. I also knew that it wouldn't work, and I had only known Inuyasha for like, a few weeks. Sometimes, she could be so oblivious.

"What do you want?" he said, rude as usual. I frowned at his lack of manners, but stayed silent, enjoying the show that was about to start. Kagome's smile faltered for a second, but she continued.

"Do you want me to tell you how to use Tetsusaiga?" she asked sweetly. He jumped down, a skeptical look on his face. He nodded anyway, and Kagome's smile grew.

"Then do you promise to use that sword to protect me from now on?" she asked, clasping her hands in front of her and batting her lashes. 'This is where it gets funny,' I thought, watching with anticipation. Inuyasha deadpanned, and put a clawed hand to her forehead.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Do you have a fever or something?" he asked. Kagome frowned at him, but he didn't seem to notice. "Did Keira put you up to this?" he asked. I chuckled from where I was watching, and Kagome scowled.

"Didn't you say "I'll protect you always"?" she said, stamping her foot childishly.

"I didn't say "always"!" he shouted. "Listen Kagome," he continued, pointing at himself, "I'm going to be a full demon someday and with this sword I can collect jewel shards in no time. Why would I waste it protecting someone like you?" he asked, turning away. Kagome's eyes closed and her eyebrow twitched, which was a sign that she was really annoyed.

"SIT BOY!" she shouted, stomping away. "I can't believe that I actually thought you had a good side!" I walked after her, stepping on Inuyasha as I went.

"Hey watch it Keira!" he shouted from his crater, before yelling at Kagome to tell him how his sword worked. I laughed, continuing my easy pace.

09090909 THE NEXT DAY 090909090

"Come on Kags, you'll scare all the fish away!" I whined as she splashed again. She had found the swimming hole and INSISTED that we swam in it before going any further. Inuyasha was gone anyway, and it wasn't like we could leave without him. I was trying to watch the fish, but she kept scaring them away with all of her loud movements. I scowled as she laughed at me, and walked back to the bank, my black two piece swimsuit dripping. I rang my hair out and shook like a dog, hitting Kagome with the droplets.

"Aww come on Key! You're such a dog!" she whined, holding her hands out in front of her face. I felt kind of trashy next to Kagome, who had brought her more modest one piece orange striped swimsuit.

"Why did you let me bring this suit? I look like a –." I started, only to be squirted in the face with water. Kagome frowned a wagged a finger at me.

"No, you don't. You look fine!" she scolded, dunking back under the water. I sighed, and lay down on a towel in the sun. I closed my eyes and relaxed, soaking in the warm rays.

"Kyaaaaaaaaa!" Kagome shrieked. I jumped up, my head whipping toward her. I noticed that Inuyasha was standing there, his ears pressed against his head.

"You're the one who took your clothes off!" he shouted. She turned slightly red, but yelled back at him.

"Not that you idiot! That monkey stole my clothes! Get them back!" she cried, running out of the water. I noticed my clothes were gone too, and I growled. He sped off after the monkey, leaving me to run after with Kagome on my back. We finally caught the creature, and burst through the brush to find a boy our age holding Kagome's bra. He had black hair tied back into a ponytail, and brown eyes. He was wearing a blue kimono with white squares, and had straw sandals and socks on.

"Hey you! Give us back our clothes!" Kagome and I shouted at the same time. The boy jumped in surprise, before scrambling for his sword.  
"Who are you? You look like a mysterious lot!" he yelled, holding the sharp blade in front of him. He noticed my demonic features and cried out.

"Demon! Stay back!" he yelled, slashing at me. I stopped his sword in my hands by clapping them together and twisting them, breaking his weak grip on the handle. The sword flew about ten feet away, before Inuyasha kicked him in the head.

"Nice try boy," I sneered, snickering as Inuyasha's foot drove his head into the ground.

0909090909 LIKE, 15 MINUTES L8TR 09090909

"Would you like some tea?" Kagome asked the boy, who was currently scarfing down a whole bag of potato chips. He tried to talk, but ended up spitting chip pieces everywhere. He turned red a bit, and nodded excitedly instead. Kagome handed him a cup of the steaming tea, and he gulped it down quickly. I was in a sour mood to say the least. It was really annoying to watch this guy eat all of our snacks. I especially hated his lack of manners.

"Would you like anything to eat Inuyasha?" she asked. He shook his head, and Kagome shook a bag of chips temptingly. "But I'll have less to carry if you eat some," she said, trying to lure him in. I rolled my eyes as he snatched the bag away and tore into it like an animal. He chewed with his mouth full, but at least he swallowed before complaining.

"Why do you always bring so much stuff with you anyway Kagome?" he asked, digging his hand into the bag again.

"Well, I have a change of clothes, my homework, and some food," she said, zipping the bag closed.

"If you ask me, all she brings is a bunch of crap. I mean, homework? Really? It's not like you'll actually get anything done with all the walking and fighting we're doing." I said, leaning against a tree. Kagome glared at me, letting her temper get the better of her. I always seemed to bring out the worst in her.

"Unlike you Key, I actually care about school. All you do is fight and sleep. I'm surprised your grades are high enough for you to be on the track team." She snapped, unusually angry at me for some reason. I let the insults roll off of my back, knowing that she'd go all guilty on me later anyway.

"I resent that! I never start the fights, and I only sleep in class because you snore like a chainsaw and I can't sleep at home!" I said. Inuyasha seemed at a loss as to what to do, not knowing how to deal with fighting women. Kizoku flew in to the glen then, and landed silently on my arm.

'_Mistress, I bring news from the Lord Masaru of the East. He requests your presence at his castle on the morrow.' _ She said, folding her wings against her sides. I raised a brow, but offered no protest. I turned back to Kagome, grinning.

"Sorry Kags, but we'll have to finish this later. I have been summoned by Lord Masaru of the East. It must be of importance for him to request my presence so soon. I'll probably be back in three or four days." I said, already running towards the east.

090909909099909909

I arrived at the castle the next morning. It was like a whole town surrounded by a large stone wall. I saw a seamstress, blacksmith, boarding house, jewel trader, and healer's shops, and an overloading vegetable stand. There was also a stable with wagons to rent for farm work, and someone was selling seeds from a wagon bed. I noticed that humans and demons were living peacefully together inside the stone walls. The manner in which they dressed and carried themselves greatly differed from poorer villages. The roads were made of smooth stones instead of the usual dirt, and the buildings seemed well maintained and almost fancy. Kizoku gazed lazily from my shoulder, having seen the place before, while I stared in amazement. I'd never been in such a beautiful town in the feudal era before. Nor had I seen humans and demons getting along so well. I stopped at a large field, watching a knife throwing class. There were humans and demons alike learning from their teacher, who was a very large demon. They had started throwing at straw targets from 30 feet away, an easy distance. The lesson was stopped as the man took the hat from a young man. I grinned slightly as the boy grew long hair, revealing himself to be a girl instead. I walked over to them, listening silently to their conversation.

"I am sorry, but this class is for men only. Go back home girl, you shouldn't play with knives. These are made for men." He said, taking the knife from her hand. The girl's fists clenched and her face turned red. The man seemed oblivious, and patted her on the head before turning away.

"Excuse me, sir, but I think you are mistaken. Knives do not care who hold them, as long as the user knows how to wield it correctly." I said, crossing my arms. The man turned, and I could finally see his features. He had reddish brown eyes, brown hair, and was very muscular.

"And who are you? Another girl who thinks knives are toys?" he sneered. I laughed, and walked right up to him.

"I am Keira, an Elemental demon. Who might you be?" I asked, unknown to the authority leaking into my voice.

"I am Sanzu, and I am Lord Masaru's General and I control these weapons training classes for the MEN villagers." He said, stressing the word men.

"I see. How about we make a little wager then? If I can hit a target half the size of these at 100 yards, then women must be allowed in this class. They should know a bit of self-defense as well. If I lose, then you get my sword," I said, showing him the sword. The menacing black blade gleamed threateningly in the sunlight, and his eyes widened at the sight. He looked at me, and smirked.

"I accept your wager." He said, and started yelling orders to a few of his men.

'_That man sure is sexist.'_ Kizoku thought. I agreed silently.

'_Most men in this time are, and they see nothing wrong with it. I am going to love showing them wrong.'_ I thought haughtily. I stretched my arm quickly, and waited for the men to line up the target.

"I'm going to love that sword of yours. It will look nice hanging on my belt," Sanzu taunted. I growled slightly, but otherwise said nothing. One of the lieutenants came up to me, and asked if I was ready to throw. I nodded, drawing one of my daggers from my boot.

"On my mark. One….two….three…go!" he shouted. I drew my arm back and threw fluidly. I knew from the start that the knife would hit the target, and I turned around, grabbing my sword as I heard the "CLANGG!" of the knife hitting the wood and people's gasps. I turned calmly, to see that my knife was sticking right in the middle of the dummy, and the tip was protruding from the back. I grabbed the hilt and drew the blade out, examining it for nicks or dings. Finding none, I shoved the blade back into my boot and attached my sword to my hip. I saw Sanzu turning red, and I smirked. He saw me, and his eyes glazed in anger.

"You hustled me! You knew that you could throw a dagger that far! I don't have to have women in my class, and I get that sword. It is rightfully mine since you cheated!" he accused, his hand reaching for my sword. I snarled and slapped his hand away.

"I did not cheat. You did not ask if I knew how to throw the knife or not. You are sexist; therefore you simply assumed that I didn't know how." I said, crossing my arms. He growled and drew his arm back as if to hit me. I tensed, waiting for the blow, but a vine sped out of the ground, wrapping around his wrist.

"Release me woman, or you shall face my wrath!" he threatened, squirming as more vines grew around him. I blinked in surprise. Did he think that I was tying him up? I wasn't even using my powers, and I would have used fire anyway, since it was my favorite element.

"You are mistaken. I am not using my powers. If I was, my eyes would be all green." I said, watching as the vines lifted him upward, turning him upside down.

"Sanzu!" a deep voice commanded. I shivered. The voice sounded just like the man who killed my mother. The demon stopped struggling, and his eyes widened.

"Lord Masaru! Please, don't waste your time with this woman. I have the situation under control." He stuttered. The Lord glared at him, and the vines slithered back into the ground. I had turned my back on Sanzu when the Lord had shown up, leaving me seemingly open for attack. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he lashed out at my back. I slid my foot backwards, making a wall of earth rise up. He ran into it, stumbling backwards, and I kicked him in the chest. He landed in a cloud of dust on his backside, and I jumped on top of him, my fists flaming. He looked terrified, his eyes almost pooping out of his skull.

"How much of a coward are you?" I snarled. "Are you so weak that you feel the need to attack someone from behind? Do not think that I can be defeated so easily. The next time, I won't hesitate to end your sorry life." I said, punching him and breaking his nose for good measure. I stood up, noticing the crowd of people and demons that had gathered around. I dusted myself off, approaching Lord Masaru.

"I apologize for making such a ruckus as soon as I arrived. I saw an act of injustice, and I couldn't help but intervene." I said, bowing. He smiled and patted my shoulder. I tried to ignore the chill that went up my spine at the contact.

"That's quite all right. I had a replacement lined up for Sanzu anyway. I just hadn't told him of his demotion yet. So, I guess that you are wondering why I have asked you here." He said, looking at me from the side of his eyes. I nodded, and he sighed tiredly.

"I am afraid that I cannot speak of it here. I have an emergency meeting with the Council until tomorrow. You can stay the night here if you wish. I will have my wife Emiya show you around the palace. I must leave now. Please, make yourself at home." He said, before walking away. A demoness with light green hair and light grey eyes walked up to me, smiling brightly.

"You must be Keira!" she squealed, hugging me tightly. I decided right away that I didn't like her. "I'm Emiya, Masaru's second wife. It's so nice to meet you!" she said, finally detaching herself from me. I didn't try to smile, seeing as how I didn't reveal my emotions to people I don't like.

"Hn," was all I said, continuing towards the castle. She didn't seem unnerved in the slightest, continuing to smile largely. I wondered how big she could smile before her face broke.

"So Keira, where are you from?" she asked, walking a bit too close to me. I moved away, getting annoyed.

"Japan," I said shortly. She laughed, not getting the hint.

"No silly, where in Japan are you from?"

"The coast."

"What village?" she said, slightly exasperated.

"I do not have to explain my history to you woman. Silence yourself before I feel offended." I snapped, glaring at her. She gulped, before calling a maid to her. The maid had purple hair and orange eyes, and was wearing a red kimono.

"Linta, show Keira to her room please." She said quickly, almost running away in her haste to get away from me. I smiled evilly at her back, scaring the maid.

"R-Right this way please!" she squeaked, scurrying down the long hallway. She stopped at a dark wooden door, opening it slowly before walking away. I stepped inside, closing the door softly behind me. Though I could see in the dark, I used my fire to light the torches and lamps in the room. It was simply yet extravagantly furnished, with a side table, a vanity, and a changing screen, along with a plush bed. The floors were a dark mahogany and the walls were a blood red, adding a warm yet mysterious feel to the room. In a word, I liked it. A LOT. My room at Kagome's house looked like this, just more modern.

I yawned loudly and walked over to the bed, plopping down tiredly. I quickly fell asleep, dreaming.

0909090909 DREAM 090909090909

_I was running. My legs were screaming in pain, my lungs burning. I was in a forest near my house in Tokyo. I had gotten mad at Kagome, and ran into the woods to cool off. I'd fallen asleep, waking up when I heard something running through the brush. I heard a growl, and saw a flash of red eyes before I had started running. It was chasing me, toying with me. I'd see it from the side of one eye, but when I turned, nothing would be there. But I could practically _feel_ the thing's breath on my neck, pushing me to run faster. The eyes grew closer, before the thing burst from the brush with an evil laugh. I felt claws tear viciously through my back, and I fell to the ground, passing out._

090909090909090

I jerked awake, covered in cold sweat. I remembered that day. I still had the 3 scars reaching from my left shoulder blade to my right lower back. Kagome had found me a day later, barely alive. The police hadn't found what had attacked me, and dropped the case. I'd had that dream for months after the incident, but I hadn't had it for years. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair, rising from the bed. I took my fighting suit off, not expecting to fight unexpectedly again. Besides, I could protect myself. I dressed in a pale green kimono with cherry blossoms on my left arm, and a cherry tree in full bloom on the back. I still hid my knife in my boot and my sword on my hip. I opened the window, and Kizoku flew in, ruffling her feathers. I greeted her warmly, before walking outside to the training area.

Sanzu was nowhere to be seen, but I saw a tiger demoness leading the day's combat lesson. She had bright orange hair, golden eyes, and black stripes on her cheeks. There was a black and orange tail sprouting from her backside, and her feet were paws. There were a good number of women in this class, which I was happy to see. I watched for a while, before Lord Masaru called me into his study.

090909 IN THE OFFICE 0909090

"Please sit Keira." He said, motioning towards a plush chair. I sat, waiting for him to continue. "I have something…slightly disturbing to tell you." He hesitated.

"Just get it over with already." I said, slightly uneasy now.

"You are the heir to the Eastern Lands. Therefore, you are to gain everything should I die. I know-."

"YOU!" I snarled, jumping out of my chair so fast it flew across the room. I took a deep breath, reining in my anger until I knew all the facts. "If I am the heir, then you are my father right?" I bit out. He nodded, and I growled. "All right then," I said, turning away. He sighed, and I whipped around kicking him in the face. His head hit the wall with a crack, and blood started to flow. A flood of guards ran into the room, their weapons pointed at my neck. He stood up slowly and shooed the guards away.

"It is fine. I thought it would come to this. You are not to interfere." He said, waiting for them to leave. "Are you positive that you want to fight me? Once we start, it will not stop until one of us is dead."

"I've been waiting to kill you since the day you killed my mother. She was innocent of any wrongdoing, but she died anyway. And then you disgrace her memory by marrying that annoying sack of stupid! You obviously didn't care much about her did you? After my mother died, I vowed to find her killer, and return the favor. Now I can finally rid myself of you." He seemed to be extremely angry at my words, attacking first. His fighting style was really old school compared to mine. He relied on mostly strength and a very small amount of speed, which was effective for feudal japan. I however, relied more on speed, agility, and strong defensive and slick offensive attacks. It was an almost unbeatable fighting style. I dodged a punch, and kicked him in the stomach, following with a punch to the jaw. He crashed through the wall and I followed after. He managed to get a good punch to my face before the dust cleared, and I stumbled back before sliding on my heels. His eyes shone green and vines slithered out of the ground going for my ankles. I quickly burned them, wrapping him in vines in return. I formed a deadly whip of water and fire in one hand, and had shards of earth in another. The wind blew dangerously, whipping my hair around.

"You can use ALL of the elements? Only the most powerful demons or demonesses can use them all." He said in awe. I didn't care what he said, my anger controlling my actions. I quickly ended his life, driving my earth shards through his chest. He fell to the ground, already dead. Sanzu came running, throwing a dagger at me. I would have dodged, but Emiya threw herself in front of me. She fell to the ground with a scream, and I knelt by her side.

"You fool. I would not have died, yet you sacrificed yourself anyway. Why?" I asked, my emotions fleeing as I wished desperately to turn them off.

"You didn't deserve to die. You only did what you thought was right." She breathed, still smiling. Her eyes glazed over, and her breathing stilled. Using my miko powers, I sent her soul into the afterlife, and purified her body into a willow sapling. I erected a barrier around it, to keep it safe. I walked to Masaru's body, simply purifying it to ash.

"Do with the remains as you wish," I said in a monotone. I walked to the front of the crowd to announce the news. "Lord Masaru is dead. I am his daughter Keira, the only heir to these lands. I may rule now, but not much will change about this region. It seems Masaru was a good leader, and I will try to be the same. There is one thing I would like to make clear. Men and women are equal as long as I rule these lands. Why should we be limited, while men can do anything they want? No longer. Women can be soldiers, learn to read and write, and do everything that men can." I paused as some of the women applauded me. "I must leave now. Who was the tiger demoness teaching the weapons class today?" I asked. The demoness strode forward, confident.

"My name is Aima. I was appointed General by Lord Masaru yesterday," she said.

"Good. You are to keep watch of things while I am with my colleagues. I have other important matters to attend to, and this new duty will not interfere." I started off, stopping beside Sanzu but not looking at him. "Sanzu, you are relieved of all military duties. Go home." And with that, I started back for Kagome and Inuyasha.


	7. Th Flesh Eating Mask!

The Flesh Eating Noh Mask!

"Come on Keira, hurry!" Kagome shouted, pedaling fiercely towards the well. I easily jogged beside her, wondering why she was in such a hurry. I soon found out why as Inuyasha came running up the road with a deadly look on his face.

"GET BACK HERE WENCH!" he yelled, shaking his fist. I smiled, having returned to my normal self when I got near Kagome.

"I'll be back soon!" she cried over her shoulder, pedaling faster. Inuyasha jumped in front of her, blocking the entrance to the well.

"Oh and what about the jewel?" he asked, crossing his arms. I snuck behind him and jumped into the well to beat Kagome home. I landed softly on my feet and activated the concealing necklace Kaede made for me. She basically took my original necklace and charmed it, adding a bead in the middle so I could turn it off by touching it. I felt a blanket of warmth surround me and I knew that that was the sign that the necklace was working. My sense of smell, hearing and sight decreased much to my discomfort. I climbed quickly up the ladder and stepped onto the ground. Kagome's grandpa fell backwards, almost spilling the container of what looked to be rice wine in his hands.

"Uh… what are you doing old man?" I asked suspiciously. He laughed nervously, before hiding the wine behind his back.

"It's nothing dear child. It's just a prayer to bring back you and Kagome. I'm almost finished," he said. I shook my head disapprovingly and started to walk out of the well house. "Oh, Keira could you clean out the storage house? I'm busy," he stated. I knew what he was doing.

"Sorry old man, but that only works on Kagome. Do it yourself," I smiled, walking to the house. I was digging in the fridge when Kagome stomped in, soaking wet and smelling of rice wine. I chuckled as she stomped upstairs. I shoved the rest of a rice ball in my mouth, and, taking one for Kagome, I ran after her. She was rinsing her hair in the sink, her clothes already changed. I was surprised to see Kagome wearing a burgundy tank top and grey sweats instead of weird flannel pajamas or a skirt. She wrapped her hair in a towel, grabbing the rice ball off the plate and shoving the whole thing in her mouth before rushing into her room and closing the door. I shrugged, knowing that when Kagome wanted to study, she wanted to be left alone.

I walked into my room, lying on my bed with my head hanging off the end. I tapped my necklace, and the warmth lifted. My senses return to normal and I felt a slight demonic aura, but I just put it off as being the well. After all, there were no demons in the modern era that I knew of. My father must have fallen through the well somehow.

I lay there bored, so I tried to water bend a little. The water seemed to have no connection to me like it did in the Feudal Era, almost like it was dead. The earth and plants' connection was still there, but it was sick and weak. I became worried, and threw open my window to contact the air. The air _had _to have some life left! It was the most free and easy adapting element there was. I got an even weaker response from the air, and I had to close my window from the fumes. I tapped my necklace to look human again, and ran out to the gardening shed for some plant seeds, soil, and a pot. I planted some irises, my favorite flower, and encouraged them to grow. I was desperate for some _healthy_ plant life. I put my hand on the ground and tried to find some pure water. I must have been there for twenty minutes before I found a tiny pocket, and twice as long to coax it out of its safe place.

I finally got the flower to bloom, and I felt relieved to be able to communicate with an element successfully. I took the pot with me to my room, silently promising to plant it in the feudal era when I got back. I set it on the window sill, and fell asleep watching it continue to grow slowly.

I woke up to Kagome pounding on my bedroom door. I cracked an eye open, groaning and rolling over.

"I'm up, I'm up!" I growled, rolling out of bed. I hit the floor with a THUMP, before dragging myself up. I glanced at my iris, and saw that it had grown tremendously. There were at least nine more blooms, and they were all leaning towards me eagerly. I gently brushed the petals as I passed, and they grew another half an inch in joy.

I hopped in the shower, tapping my necklace and taking it off. I showered quickly and dried myself off with a fluffy towel. I dressed in faded skinny jeans, a blue shirt with a picture of a cactus that said "hugs?" and a black leather half jacket. I went downstairs and saw Aunt Rachio cooking in the kitchen, and Kagome hurriedly drinking a glass of orange juice and stuffing a muffin into her mouth. She swallowed and started reprimanding me.

"Why aren't you in your uniform? We have school today!" she scolded, tying her necktie. I rolled my eyes, clearing her plate for her.

"I dropped out. I'm not staying in this era permanently anymore, so school won't matter. I promised to help your mom around here too. The tourist season is right around the corner, and the place needs to look nice. We need as many customers as we can get," I said, grabbing my sunglasses and the grocery money and tapping my necklace on the way out. Kagome seemed shocked at my statement, and I took the opportunity to get as far away as I could before she exploded.

I stepped out of the butchers' shop, and was almost run over by a few kids running down the street. I looked where they were running, and saw a trail of smoke winding into the sky. My eyes widened as I recognized that the smoke was coming from the shrine. I paid some kid ten dollars to bring the groceries to the shrine, and ran home. Kagome met me near the steps, and we met her mother at the gate.

"Mom! What's going on?" Kagome cried frantically. Kagome's mother smiled tiredly, and I slung my arm across her shoulders to offer support.

"It's okay Kagome. The storehouse just caught on fire, though your grandfather was stuck in the building and inhaled some smoke. He'll have to stay in the hospital for a few days though, and I'll be staying with him. Please take care of Souta while I'm gone. Stay safe!" she said, walking down the steps to a cab that was waiting on the street. Something about the whole situation felt off, but I couldn't turn my necklace off with all the people here. Souta came running as fast as he could, and crashed into Kagome, nearly making her fall over.

"Kagome! I came as fast as I could!" he said breathlessly. Kagome knelt in front of him and grabbed his shoulders.

"It's okay Souta, no one was hurt! It was just in the storage house," she explained.

Terrible screeching sounds made us all run for the front of the shrine. A fire truck had gone out of control, crushing every car in its way. Kagome and I watched in horror as it drove away, but eventually went back inside.

I was sitting in Kagome's grandfather's room in the hospital while she was outside talking to her mother. He twitched for a moment, before mumbling something about a "flesh eating Noh mask" before passing out again. I frowned in confusion and brushed it off, thinking he was delusional. Kagome agreed with me, and she sat down in the chair next to me.

"Kagome, I have something to tell you," I said. She motioned for me to continue, which I did. "I can't use my powers here. Everything is so polluted that the elements barely have any life anymore. It makes me so upset. How could people do this?"

"It'll be okay Keira. I thought about what you said earlier, and I understand why you love the feudal era so much. I love it too," she said, leaning against me. Most of our conversations went this way, me always ending up comforting her instead of the other way around. But I wasn't one to complain. We sat there for a little while longer before taking Souta home.

"So, why are you still studying?" I asked, lounging on Kagome's bed. She sighed, swiveling around in her chair to face me.

"I have a huge math final tomorrow! Though my attendance might not even be good enough anyway!" she said worriedly, turning back to her books. We both looked up when Souta opened the door, carrying a pillow and sleeping bag.

"Hey sis, can I sleep in here tonight?" he asked timidly, hugging his pillow to his chest. I smiled and Kagome sighed, the "no" look on her face.

"Of course you can Souta. I was going to stay in here too," I said before Kagome could say no. He smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Kags, can't I take this thing off now?" I whined, tugging on my necklace. She thought for a minute, and finally relented. I took it off, and set it on the desk. Souta stared at me in amazement and I laughed. My ears focused on a whooshing sound outside and I sat straight. I managed to get Kagome and Souta out of the way as a fire truck's rescue bucket crashed through the wall. A blob thing dove in the window and reached for the shards. It had a Noh mask for a face, and the smell of dead flesh radiated from the body. Kagome grabbed the bottle with the jewel shards while I grabbed Souta and ran out the door. I ran down the steps beside Kagome, making sure she didn't fall. I barely noticed the faintest pink glow that I could only guess was a jewel shard.

"Souta go to the well and get Inuyasha! Just tell him that there's a jewel shard here, that'll be enough to make him come. Keira, just keep him safe!" she cried, running down the street. I thought about ignoring her and fighting the demon, but decided against it as Souta tripped. I caught him and ran into the well house. I jumped down, carrying Souta on my shoulder. I landed in the bottom of the well in the feudal era, and noticed that Souta wasn't with me. I was about to jump back and get him when I heard Inuyasha yelling about something. I leapt out and landed on the grass before speeding towards Kaede's hut.

I threw the straw mat aside, finding Inuyasha fuming in the corner and Kaede pounding herbs.

"Inuyasha!" I said hurriedly. "Kagome's in major trouble. There's a demon chasing after her with a jewel shard!" he huffed and crossed his arms childishly.

"Can't _you _handle this? It's just one demon, it should be easy! Besides, she threw my back out when you snuck off!" he growled.

"You don't think I would have tried that before coming here? The last thing I want is to come crawling for someone else's help!" I snapped.

"Then why'd you come?" he shouted.

"My powers won't work. The modern era is too polluted. Now come on!" I said.

"No way! She didn't even apologize to me! Do you know how many times she sat me?" he grumbled. I grabbed his ear and tugged him out the door and to the well, with him saying "ow, ow, ow" the whole way. I shoved him in and jumped down after him. When I got through, he was being all brave and manly for Souta. I rolled my eyes and jumped out after him, running on the rooftops to remain unseen. I caught the scent of Kagome's blood, and I left Inuyasha in the dust. Kagome had stupidly run onto a construction site, and was at least ten floors up on a steel girder. I easily cleared the jump and landed beside her, slicing through a gooey tentacle that the demon had shot at Kagome.

"So, do you know anything about the history of this thing?" I asked, shaking the goo off my hand. Kagome nodded, panting, and wiped some sweat off her forehead.

"It's a Noh mask. It was carved from a tree that had a sacred jewel shard embedded in it, and since then it's been devouring humans so that it can have a human body. It probably broke through the seals once it sensed the jewel shards, and set the store house on fire," she explained. I cut through another tentacle, but was grabbed by three more.

"Bwah ha ha ha!" it laughed, dragging me towards it. "I shall devour your power and take your body!" Since I knew that my demon powers didn't work, I tapped into my miko powers. I was able to purify the tentacles holding me and it shrieked. It dropped me before sending more tentacles at me and Kagome at the same time. I sent a blast of miko energy towards her, and formed a barrier. As soon as the tentacles touched it, they were purified to dust. The purification travelled up the tentacles, and almost reached the main body before it cast them away. I sliced through the tentacles that were aimed at me, and I let my barrier dissipate when Inuyasha showed up. I immediately felt extremely tired, and wanted more than anything to just go to sleep. I used the last of my energy to jump next to Kagome, and couldn't remain standing any longer. I crumpled to my knees, panting. Inuyasha stopped fighting and turned towards kagome, a smug look on his face.

"Now, before I do anything else, I want an apology for what you did wench!" he yelled, glaring at her. Kagome looked at him in confusion for a moment, before the figurative light bulb lit up inside her head.

"Oh yeah, that. Sorry!" she said, trying not to giggle. Inuyasha deadpanned.

"You don't even mean it! You don't feel sorry at all for what you did!" he screamed. Souta's face fell, and I knew that his impression of Inuyasha had just gone way down. Kagome giggled and tried to disguise it as a couch, before clasping her hands together.

"Okay, I'm very sorry. Are you satisfied now?" she asked amusedly. Inuyasha grumbled, but started fighting the Noh mask again.

"I don't know what you've been eating, but you need to lose some weight!" he snarled, trying to punch it. The mask cracked open, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth, and bit into Inuyasha's arm. He tried to pull it out, but realized that he was stuck.

"Keira, I could use your help!" Inuyasha said, his arm stuck in the Noh mask's mouth.

"I'm more demon than miko Yashie. Using my miko powers drains my energy much faster because I hardly ever use them. Sorry, but I'm down for at least three hours."

"Well that's just great!" he griped, pulling his arm out of the mask's mouth. The mask disconnected from the body, and flew at Kagome, trying to attach itself to her face. I managed to get up and grab the mask from behind. It stared at me for a moment before trying to attach itself to _my_ face. I pushed it away and started running from it with all my remaining strength.

"Uhm... hello?" I cried, running past Inuyasha. "I'm kind of being chased by a mask that wants to possess me! I'm powerless and tired. Please, feel free to jump in any time!" Inuyasha grabbed the mask and crushed it, making the jewel shard fall out. Unfortunately, I couldn't run anymore and I fell, cutting my arm. The jewel shard fell into the gash, which closed immediately. I felt the power course through my veins, and I channeled it to my inner miko instead of my inner demon like most would do. My miko powers increased incredibly, and I saw the aura from the well all the way from the construction site.

"Keira, what the heck did you do?" Inuyasha yelled, shaking my shoulder and grabbing the front of my shirt in his fist. I growled and twisted his wrist around, making him yelp in pain.

"You dare lay a hand on me?" I said coldly. He gulped and his eyes widened. "Do you know who I am? If we had been anywhere near my palace and you had- SHIT," I groaned, slapping my forehead and dragging my hand down my face. I realized that I had just revealed my new position in the feudal era, something that I had wished to remain a secret for a while longer.

"Palace? What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha snapped. Kagome was looking at me like I was crazy, and Souta just looked confused.

"I'll tell you later. Let's get Souta home first." I sighed, jumping off the beam and heading home.

0909090909 EARLY THAT MORNING 090909090

"So, basically, you gained the Eastern Lands after you killed your father who killed your mother?" Kagome said. I nodded and finished helping Kagome pack her bag. Inuyasha was still in shock from finding out that I ruled all of the Eastern Lands, and hadn't said a word.

"I didn't want them, but I had no choice. His second wife should have received them, but she died protecting me," I explained. "They had not been married long enough to bear children. Their child would not have received the lands anyway, since I had been born first. From my understanding, they would have searched for hundreds of years before giving the child the throne," I murmured, mostly to myself.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go already!" Inuyasha griped, already walking out the door. Kagome heaved her bag onto her back and walked outside.

"Bye Souta! See you later!" she shouted, huffing under the weight of her bag.

"Don't you think you packed too much sis?" he yelled from the door. Kagome shook her head and almost fell over. I sighed and grabbed her bag from her, and ran to Inuyasha.

"Hey Yashie, Kagome's too shy to ask you, but could you carry this for her pleeeeease?" I asked, giving my best puppy dog look. He tried to look away, but grabbed the bag anyway.

"Fine, just stop looking at me like that!" he said, covering my face with his hand and pushing it away playfully.

"Ooh you're lucky Kagome likes you!" I teased, giving him a noogie and running to the well house.

"Hey!" he shouted, chasing after me. I laughed and jumped into the swirling lights of the well.

I landed on the grass outside the well and waited for Inuyasha to jump out with Kagome.

"Let's go to the East!" Kagome suggested, turning and starting to walk already.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, grabbing her arm. She was about to yell at him when she saw the look on his face.

"What Inuyasha?" she said, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"The East is this way," he said, pointing the other direction. I giggled, earning a glare from Kagome.

"I knew that!" she declared, walking the right way now. I sighed and continued on behind them.

090909090 THE NEXT DAY 09090909

"Hey Kagome, this is really good!" Inuyasha exclaimed, stuffing his mouth full of ramen. Kagome barely contained her anger, clenching her fist.

"Aren't you eating?" he asked. Kagome snapped and starting shrieking at him. Did I mention that we were in a fresh battle field, with bones and buzzards and decaying flesh?

"How can you eat in a place like this? Keira isn't even eating, but here you are, chomping away!" she yelled, scaring some birds into flight.

"Why aren't you eating Keira? You haven't eaten since I've known you," Inuyasha said, his mouth stuffed full.

"The fact that this happened so close to my lands disturbs me. My people have full jurisdiction here. This fight could have been stopped," I muttered, glaring at the bones. "And I just never feel hungry is all."

"Kagome, judging from your strange food stuffs, your time must trade a lot with other lands." Myoga said, still fascinated by the packaged food. Kagome nodded and put the cup on her hand like a game show assistant.

"Actually Myoga, ramen was created in Japan for the astronauts."

"What are as-taro-nuts?" Myoga asked, stumbling over the enunciation.

"Astronauts," she corrected. "They ride in rocket ships into outer space. Oh, did I mention that we've been on the moon?" she said excitedly.

"What's a rock-it ship?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well, it's long and white and flames shoot out of the bottom, and then 3, 2, 1 countdown to launch! Zoom!" Inuyasha's short attention span had caused him to stop paying attention and slurp his noodles loudly. Kagome became incensed and turned red in anger.

"Trust you to be more fascinated by noodles than space travel!" she grumbled. The sky suddenly grew darker and I felt a demonic aura.

"There's a demon here. Small, but a demon," I said, looking towards the sky. Inuyasha threw his cup away, ignoring Myoga's scolding for littering. A ring of blue fire appeared in front of us, and a childish voice echoed out.

"You there! You possess shards of the Shikon Jewel! Give them to me! The jewel or your life!" A pink blob appeared from the cloud, and it opened its toothless mouth to munch on Inuyasha's head. Inuyasha closed his eyes and scratched his head, before pulling back his hand and slapping the blob. It deflated like a balloon and landed in my arms, where it turned into a fox kit. I grabbed his shirt collar and held him in the air.

"Uhm… what are you doing kid?" I asked, holding him out a little further as he tried to hit me.

"Unhand me heathen!" he shouted. I shrugged and dropped him on the ground. He landed kind of hard, and it took him a minute to scramble away. Inuyasha grabbed him by the tail and held him in the air like I had.

"Nice tail there kid. Looks like a badger or squirrel to me," Inuyasha said, ignoring his squirming.

"Maybe he's a weasel!" I offered, chuckling as he shouted that he was a fox. Kagome let out a girly squeal and started grabbing for him.

"Inuyasha let me hug him next!" she gushed. I could almost see the hearts surrounding her. The kid used a stone statue to anchor Inuyasha's hands to the ground and started digging through Kagome's bag.

"Hey! Get out of my stuff!" she shouted, running towards him. He held up the bottle with the jewel shard and jumped into the air.

"Our time together has been short but sweet! Farewell!" he said, and disappeared in a swirl of blue fire.

"That little brat! He used fox fire to get away!" Inuyasha hollered, finally pulling his hands out from under the stone. I heard a noise to my left, and saw a skull with a tail sticking out scrambling away.

"Uhm guys? He's right there," I said, pointing. Inuyasha stood up and clenched his fist.

"Kagome, I'd get the first aid kit if I were you," I said, wincing as Inuyasha started hitting the kid on the head.

090909090909090909

"Always pick on the little guy," the kid sulked cutely. I tried to hold back a giggle but failed, earning a glare from the kid.

"Just hold still. It might sting a little, just think happy thoughts," Kagome said soothingly as she sprayed some ointment on the giant bump on the fox's head.

"Hey kid, why were you after the jewel shards?" I asked.

"My name is Shippou. I was after the jewel shards so I can avenge my father," he said.

"Avenge? You don't mean he was killed do you?" Kagome asked.

"I get it. He's not strong enough on his own, so he needs the power of the jewel shards," Inuyasha said, taking the bottle out of his shirt.

"I'm strong enough to handle any demon!" he said. Kagome saw the shards and immediately started to bicker with Inuyasha. Shippou stopped in the middle of his speech once he noticed that I was the only one listening.

"Don't worry they do this all the time. Just ignore them until they stop," I said. He ignored me and took a big breath. I tensed for the onslaught of yelling that was sure to follow. Souta used to do this when he was little, so I knew what to expect.

"HEY!" he yelled with all his might. "I'M DOING THE TALKING HERE!" Inuyasha and Kagome froze. Kagome had the bottle in her hand, and was pushing Inuyasha's face away with the other. Inuyasha had a hand on the arm that was pushing his face, and his other hand was reaching for the bottle. Kagome took the bottle back and started listening again.

"It all started not too long ago. Hundreds of warriors were engaged in a battle near the forest where we lived. But a dark cloud passed overhead. A cloud so dark and evil that none could imagine what horrors it would bring. The warriors were troubled by the change in the weather, until they saw two beings emerge from the clouds. One was human looking, and the other looked like a reptile. The human looking one annihilated one side with a single bolt of lightning. The other destroyed the other side by shooting a large ball of flame from his mouth," he ended. He was sitting on the back of Kagome's bike and we were travelling through the forest now.

"Wait, so they killed your father for his jewel shard? Why did he have one?" Kagome asked. I was floating on my cloud beside them, not in the mood to run. Shippou shrugged.

"I can't say. All I know is that the Thunder Brothers steal the jewel from other demons."

"Thunder Brothers?" I asked, letting my cloud dissipate when Kagome stopped on her bike.

"It's a nickname, because of their thunder and lightning attacks," Shippou said. Inuyasha stopped in a tree above us and I jumped up beside him.

"Thunder Brothers? You heard of 'em Myoga?" Inuyasha asked. Myoga appeared on his shoulder and nodded.

"He must be speaking of Hiten and Manten, and if the rumors are true, then they are evil incarnate," he said solemnly. Inuyasha scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Big deal! So I fight the brothers and I walk away with all their jewel shards," he boasted.

"Don't just find them and start swinging your sword around," I warned. "They aren't just keeping the jewel shards for decoration. If you rush into this, you'll get yourself killed."

"You're no match for the Thunder Brothers!" Shippou said. "You're only half demon; I can smell the human in you. This is between demons, its got nothing to do with half breeds such as yourself, so stay out of it!"

"What does being half demon have to do with anything? Inuyasha's beaten plenty of full demons already! Just because you're only half demon doesn't mean you're weak! You should be ashamed Shippou!" I scolded. Inuyasha jumped down and started punching him on the head. Shippou started mumbling some apologies and bowed.

"In fact, as a token of my apology, take this!" he said, using the stone statue again. He stuck a seal on and landed on the ground. "As long as that seal stays in place, you'll be stuck there!" he laughed. He turned to Kagome and me next.

"I don't like to hit women, I hope you can forgive me!" he said, weakly karate chopping both of our necks. Kagome and I grabbed him at the same time, and he tried to use his blue fire to get away. Kagome dropped him, but I was immune to the fire so I held on.

"How about a little respect here?" I demanded, flicking him on the forehead.

"Let me go! I need to avenge my father!" he cried, squirming desperately in my grasp.

"Fine, I'll help. But we can't just run into this! The first lesson in the Keira school of battle is: STRATEGY!" I exclaimed, setting him on the ground and digging out a piece of paper.

"I don't know about this.." Shippou said hesitantly. Kagome put a hand on his shoulder for reassurance.

"Keira's good at these kinds of things. You should at least listen to her Shippou," she said. He nodded and sat down across from me.

"Okay to start, let's talk about position. We want to keep the brothers on land that we are familiar with. Let's keep it near or on the battlefield. Avoid the marshes and obstacles that will slow you down, i.e. rocks, water, tall grass, tree roots, etc. Make sure you have a clear view of the sky at all times," I said. They both nodded and I was about to continue until Inuyasha yelled at us.

"GET THIS THING OFF ME PLEASE!" he shrieked. I gave Shippou a pointed look and he went over and peeled the seal off. The statue shrunk back to the size of a pebble and Inuyasha stood straight.

"Inuyasha, sit down. This is important. You'll be in this plan too," I said, and they all gathered around while I schemed. "I'm thinking that Shippou could act like he stole the jewel and ran away. Then Kagome would show up and save him, but be knocked out. Then she could get kidnapped. She can say that Inuyasha is her "lover" and that he has most of the Jewel, which he would gladly trade for her safe return. Most likely, they'll both come along to make sure they have a bigger chance of winning a fight, which is where I come in. I can follow after the one that kidnaps Kagome on the way back to their hideout and intervene if things start getting risky for Kagome. Then I follow back, and I take care of the reptile. Inuyasha, I'm leaving the human looking one to you got it? Then, we defeat them both and take the jewel shards. Ta-Da!" I finished, putting my pencil down.

"That's actually not a bad idea. But do I really have to act like I'm Kagome's "lover"?" Inuyasha whined.

"I suppose not. You could deny it and all once they get here, I'll leave that up to you. The lover part is just to get them here," I explained. "See Shippou, it's water-tight!" I said happily. He nodded and stood up.

"Let's get going then." I said, standing and grabbing my sword and daggers from Kagome's bag.


End file.
